Recovery of tucumã (Astrocaryum aculeatum) by-products by ultrasound-assisted pressurized liquid extraction

• Grant number: 22/00489-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: December 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Julian Martínez
• Grantee: Mariana de Paula Kraüss Ferreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Amazon rainforest has a rich biodiversity in its fauna and flora, which arouses commercial and academic interests. Tucumã do Amazonas (Astrocaryum aculeatum) is a very common fruit in this region, usually consumed in nature and highly nutritious. In addition to the almond, from which the almond used to produce the butter is extracted, tucumã peel is one of the main residues provided by its consumption. The extraction of bioactive compounds using ultrasound-assisted high-pressure technologies falls under green chemistry, unlike traditional methods, and provides better quality products. Thus, this work aims to obtain extracts rich in bioactive compounds from tucumã almond and peel with pressurized liquids assisted by ultrasound (UAPLE). An extraction using the conventional method with Soxhlet will be performed in duplicate. The tucumã almond will be previously defatted by extraction with supercritical CO2 at 25 MPa and 40 °C. The defatted almond and the peel will be subjected to UAPLE with ethanol and water (3:1, m:m), at a pressure of 10 MPa, fixed frequency of 20 kHz, ultrasound power of 0 (without ultrasound), 240, 480, and 720 W and temperatures of 60, 80 and 100 ºC. Therefore, the effects of ultrasound power and temperature on the global yield, carotenoid content (only in the peel), total phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity of the extracts will be evaluated by the FRAP and ORAC methods. The protein content of the tucumã almond and peel will also be determined, in order to evaluate its application in the formulation of new products. The results obtained in the UAPLE will be statistically evaluated by analysis of variance (ANOVA), where significant differences at the 5% level of significance will be analyzed by Tukey's test. The aim of this work is to suggest an ecologically correct strategy for the use of a typically Brazilian agro-industrial residue, through the integration of high-pressure extraction technologies with ultrasound to obtain new high-value products.(AU)