The Effects of Microwave Application on the Physicochemical Properties of Bacaba (oenocarpus Bacaba Mart.) Oil

Abstract

Background. Bacaba (Oenocarpus bacaba Mart.) has a high yield of oil, with the potential to produce biologically active natural products and can be considered a new “superfruit” with high value added. Materials and methods. Acid value, peroxide value, refractive index, saponification value, p-anisidine value, relative density, iodine value, total oxidation value, specific extinction coefficients at 232 and 270 nm (K232and K270), ΔK, and color were determined. Results. The most significant changes in the quality values, such as peroxide (26.25 mEq·kg-1), p-anisidine (11.41), acidity (14.66 mg KOH·g-1oil), and total oxidation (63.92) were determined for 15 min of microwave heating. Conclusions. The microwave heating promoted the acceleration of oxidative processes showing that, overall, much care should be taken when heating the bacaba oil by microwave to avoid oil degradation.