The aim of this work was to determine the chemical, technological and in vitro antioxidant properties of
co-products from the industrialisation of some tropical exotic fruits, such as mango, pineapple, guava and
passion fruit, and to evaluate their potential use as dietary fibre sources for food enrichment. Proximate
compositions were determined, as well as the total, insoluble and soluble fibre contents. The water holding,
oil holding and swelling capacities were also determined. For the antioxidant activity, three different
test systems were used (ABTS, DPPH and FRAP). The dietary fibre content of the co-products varied in a
range between 69.1 and 81.5 g/100 g on a dry matter basis with a good balanced ratio between insoluble
dietary fibre and soluble dietary fibre. Phenol recovery was dependent on the fruit type and the solvent
system used. Methanol:acetone was a more efficient solvent for extracting phenols than ethanol. There
was a good correlation between total phenol content and antioxidant capacity of the fruit extracts. All
samples analysed had good antioxidant capacity. The results of this study indicate that exotic fruit fibres
obtained as co-products in the process to obtain juice may be considered a good source of natural compounds
with significant antioxidant activity.