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| Author(s): |
Ana Vania Carvalho
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | Campinas, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos |
| Defense date: | 2004-03-24 |
| Examining board members: |
Nelson Horacio Pezoa García;
Jaime Amaya Farfán;
Hilary Castle de Menezes;
Edy Sousa de Brito;
Maria Luzenira de Souza;
Marisa de Nazare Hoelz Jackix;
Denise C. P Jardim
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| Advisor: | Nelson Horacio Pezoa García |
| Abstract | |
Cupuacu (Theobroma grandiflorum Schum) is a native fruit from northern Brazil, with great economic potential. Its productive chain is currently sustained by the pulp market. The seed, treated as a by-product of the pulp industrialization, has recently come to public attention as a highly nutritive product with great market potential for industrialized products. The objective of the present study was the production and characterization of flour, protein concentrate and protein isolate obtained from the cupuacu seed, in terms of their chemical and functional properties and their protein and amino acid composition. The flour, obtained from ground and defatted seeds, was used to extract the protein fraction in an aqueous medium, obtaining the protein concentrate (precipited at pH 3.5) and the protein isolate (solubilized at pH 9.0 and precipited at pH 3.5). The defatted flour, the protein concentrate and the protein isolate were analyzed in terms of their chemical composition, color, amino acid contents, electrophoretic protein profile and functional properties. The concentrate presented a protein content of 31.18% and the isolate, 64.29%. The electrophoretic profile of their proteins indicated the presence of three main protein bands, with molecular weights ranging from 20.03 to 39.79 kDa, besides three additional weak bands. The weaker bands seem to have been selectively lost during alkaline extraction for production of the protein isolate, as they were detected only in the defatted flour and in the protein concentrate. The defatted flour, the protein concentrate and the protein isolate obtained from cupuacu presented a good amino acid composition, as the contents of most amino acids were higher than the daily recommended amounts. The flour and the concentrate presented both excellent water and oil retention capacity. Good emulsifying ability at pH 7.0 was also observed for all three products: 987.50 mL oil/g for the flour, 977.50 mL oil/g for the protein concentrate and 1380.00 mL oil/g for the protein isolate. So, these products presented good utilization potential, not only to enrich other foods, but also to enhance some functional properties (AU) | |