Physical characterization and proximate composition of Butia capitata fruit pulp

Coquinho-azedo (Butia capitata) is a palm tree native to the Brazilian Cerrado with fruits widely consumed by the regional population and represents a source of income for communities through extractive exploitation. In recent years there has been an increase in research related to the development of new products from Cerrado fruits. However, there is still a low investment and commercial exploitation of the products, making it difficult to introduce coquinho-azedo and other regional products on the market. It is necessary to develop alternatives to promote the conservation of the species and add value to the products obtained. Thus, the objective of this work was to characterize the coquinho-azedo fruit pulp. Fresh and mature fruits were obtained from the Municipal Market in the city of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais and selected according to the degree of maturation and absence of damage. Then, they were sanitized and had their pulps separated, frozen, subjected to lyophilization and milling. The following physical analyzes were carried out: real density in a pycnometer, apparent density by the test tube method, porosity by the relationship between apparent and real density, pH in a benchtop pH Meter, soluble solids in a manual refractometer, and volumetric weighted mean particle diameter by Mastersizer. The proximal composition was carried out according to the AOAC methodology: moisture by drying in an oven, proteins by the Dumas method, ash by incineration in a muffle furnace, and lipids by Soxhlet. The total carbohydrate content was calculated by difference and the caloric value considering 9 kcal for each gram of lipids and 4 kcal for each gram of proteins and carbohydrates. All analyzes were performed in triplicate and the results expressed as mean ± standard deviation. The lyophilized coquinho-azedo pulp presented a real density of 1.34 ± 0.00 g/cm³, an apparent density of 0.56 ± 0.03 g/cm³, porosity of 58.39 ± 2.25 % and a volumetric weighted mean particle diameter of 249.63 ± 7.30 µm. The pH (3.21 ± 0.05) indicated that the pulp is acidic and its soluble solids content (10.67 ± 0.58 °Brix) indicated that it was a slightly sweet product. In relation to its proximate composition, the pulp presented low moisture (3.72 ± 0.09 g/100 g), facilitating its storage. Despite the low protein content (4.62 ± 0.08 g/100 g) and ash (5.28 ± 0.13 g/100 g), it presented considerable total carbohydrate content (47.23 g/100 g) due to the presence of fibers in its pulp. Its high lipid content (39.15 ± 0.66 g/100 g) is responsible for the high caloric value of 559.72 ± 3.69 kcal/100 g, indicating that it is an oily and nutritious product that can be used to develop new products from its incorporation in bakery and confectionery industries, but it can reduce its shelf life in cases of lipid oxidation. It is concluded, therefore, that the coquinho-azedo fruit pulp can be used for the development of new products, encouraging the consumption of a regional fruit from the Cerrado.