Résumé
The tree tomato (Solanum betaceum) contains important bioactive compounds, including phenolic compounds, carotenoids, vitamins, and minerals, which possess beneficial effects on human health. This research aimed to was to evaluate the potential of ceramic membranes with different pore sizes / Molecular Weight Cut-Off (MWCO) for obtaining phenolic enriched fractions from tree tomato (50 nm to 1 kDa). The juice had two pretreatments, enzymatic maceration and centrifugation. Subsequently, the supernatant was microfiltered and the resulting fractions were obtained by an ultrafiltration process using a benchtop crossflow pilot unit (Membralox®, model XLAB 5, Pall Corporation, France). Their physicochemical characteristics were then analyzed. The UF-10 allowed concentrating the total phenolic compounds (CF=1.5) with acceptable characteristics of color (L*=52.4±3.46, C*=20.6±2.89, hº=86.0±2.30), total soluble solids (10.4±0.28 ºBx) e total insoluble solids (0.49±0.26%), and titratable acidity (1.55±0.04%). Therefore, this fraction could be used as a functional ingredient in the food and nutraceutical industry.