Compostos bioativos e capacidade antioxidante da polpa e óleo de buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L.)

Abstract

The Cerrado is the second largest biome in Brazil, surpassed only by the Amazon. Covering states such as Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, Bahia and Maranhão. In this way, it constitutes a large extension of natural resources and renewable sources, such as exotic plants that may contain different sensory characteristics. These unique properties generate a potential for national and international exploitation of the fruit. Some Cerrado fruits are known to have bioactive compounds and antioxidants, one of which fruits is buriti. (Mauritia Flexuosa L.), which is generally found in the Pantanal, Amazon and Cerrado, the fruit of this palm is known to be rich in vitamins, dietary fiber, unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants. Its color varies from orange to dark red. Buriti is a fruit of interest to the food industry, even so there are few studies that relate the pulp and oil compounds. In this sense, this work aims to evaluate and characterize the bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of buriti oil and pulp (Mauritia flexuosa L.). Regarding the antioxidant capacity, the results of ABTS lipophilic extract (1085.51±501.85 μmol Trolox/100g) and hydrophilic extract (1895.49±178.62 μmol Trolox/100g), DPPH lipphilic extract (4194.02±88,89 μmol Trolox/100g), and hydrophilic (4368.77±11.99 μmol Trolox/100g), FRAP (706.46±56.25 mg Trolox/100g) corroborate the literature demonstrating significant values. The hydrophilic extract of buriti pulp showed the highest values for all analyzed methods. Among these, the DPPH method presented the higher levels (4368.77±11.99 µmol Trolox/100g). The most significant results occurred in the pulp, due to a possible degradation of the compounds caused by the oil extraction method. In addition, the oil and pulp were rich in carotenoids and phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Among the phenolic compounds the group of non-flavonoids were in greater quantity in the phenolic compounds. These data showed that buriti is a fruit that is very rich in bioactive compounds and that further studies related to buriti and Cerrado fruits are still needed, regarding their properties.