Transformation of babassu mesocarp into a functional ingredient: production and evaluation of a model food to understand the impact of processing on its nutritional and technological potential.

• Grant number: 25/11506-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2025
• End date: September 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Fernanda Maria Vanin
• Grantee: Fernanda Maria Vanin
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Pirassununga
• Associated research grant: 24/13091-9 - How food processing can alter the physicochemical, digestibility, and cytotoxic properties of certain foods., AP.R
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/23120-9 - Transformation of babassu mesocarp into a functional ingredient: production and evaluation of a model food to understand the impact of the process on nutritional and technological potential, BP.IC

Abstract

This subproject aims to transform a raw material typical of the Amazon region-babassu mesocarp, a by-product of babassu oil extraction-into a functional ingredient through flour production and its subsequent application in the development of cookies (used here as a model food for research purposes rather than actual product development). The proposal focuses on evaluating how different processing methods affect the technological, nutritional, and safety properties of the resulting flour, as well as whether these properties are retained in the final model product-the cookies. Both the flours and the cookies will be assessed for chemical composition, bioactive compounds, protein digestibility, and cytotoxicity. This work seeks to train students in scientific practices applied to food processing and its impact on food safety, technological innovation, and the valorization of unconventional Brazilian ingredients. (AU)