Quality characteristis of fruits and oils of palms native to the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Native palm trees are highly important plant resources for the Amazon region; however, despite the great diversity and utilities, few species have been studied, requiring more comprehensive studies on quality and composition for species not yet explored. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of fruits and oils of palm trees from the Brazilian Amazon and to identify potential uses. Fruits from five palm trees (bacaba, buriti, inajá, pupunha, and tucumã) were evaluated for total mass, length, diameter, and yield, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), pH, SS/TA ratio, total soluble sugar (TSS), reducing sugar (RS), total pectin (TP) soluble pectin (SP), and starch. The oils from the edible portion of fruits were evaluated for acidity and peroxide indexes, oxidative stability, unsaponifiable matter, polar compounds and fatty acids composition analyzed by gas chromatography. Pupunha showed the highest yield of the edible portion (76.38%) and starch content (24.89%). The mesocarp of palm fruits showed SS values between 7.5 and 14.3 ºBrix, low acidity (0.30%), pH (4.2 to 6.3), higher content of total sugars in tucuma and reducing sugars in bacaba and 0.81% for total pectin. The content of lipids was high, ranging from 17.0% for pupunha to 38.3% for bacaba in dry basis. In buriti, tucuma, and bacaba oils, high content of unsaturated fatty acids was found, with more than 83, 75, and 61%, respectively. Therefore, not only fruits but also oils showed excellent quality and great nutritional potential.