Nutritional and chemical characterizations of fruits obtained from Syagrus romanzoffiana, Attalea dubia, Attalea phalerata and mauritia flexuosa

• DOI: 10.1007/s11694-018-9742-3
• Publication Date: 2018-02-03T11:37:12Z
• Authors: Caroline Honaiser...; Ivan Pires de Oli...; Fernando Freitas ...; Débora da Silva B...; Priscilla Narciso...; Claudia Andrea Li...; Jorge Luiz Raposo...; Eliana Janet Sanj...
• Keywords: ABTS; Arecaceae; Human nutrition; Functional food

Several species of Arecaceae are widely distributed in tropical regions and are economically important as a source of vegetable oil and bioactive nutrients beneficial to health and human nutrition. In this work, the physical and chemical characteristics of the oils and fruits from Syagrus romanzoffiana, Attalea phalerata, Mauritia flexuosa and for the first time for Attalea dubia (Mart.) Burret were determined. All fruits were dimensioned according to the biometric analysis (size and mass). Nutritional analysis showed high levels of lipids, proteins, sugars and fibers, as well as Ca, Mg, K, Cu, Mn, Fe and Zn minerals. The composition of fatty acids showed the predominance of short and unsaturated fatty acids carbon chain. All fruits presented high content of polyphenols and carotenoids (except for S. romanzoffiana). Moreover, all fruits demonstrate antioxidant activity by direct capture of free radicals ABTS and DPPH. Finally, our results demonstrate that these fruits have a relevant concentration of nutrients and bioactive compounds with importance for human health. Such data open up promising prospects for the scientific exploration and use of these fruits as an alternative source to combat malnutrition as well as to compose formulations of food products with functional properties. Finally, our results demonstrate that these fruits present a relevant concentration of nutrients and bioactive compounds with importance for human health, with promising perspectives for the scientific exploration and use of these fruits as an alternative source to avoid malnutrition as well as to compose formulations of food products with functional properties.