CHARACTERIZATION OF THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ACROCOMIA FRUIT PULP FROM THREE POPULATIONS OF ECONOMIC INTEREST FOR FOOD USE

Abstract: The two main species of the genus Acrocomia are A. aculeata and A. totai, both with expanding commercial plantations and whose oils derived from their fruits are historically produced in an extractive way. Co-products of food interest can be obtained after the extraction of the oil for consumption in natura in the diet, such as proteins, carotenoids, flavonoids and, especially, soluble fibers, as it results in foods that promote good physical condition, low in calories, cholesterol and fat, and should represent 20–30% of our daily fiber intake. Thus, the present study aimed to characterize the chemical composition of the pulp of an A. aculeata from MG and another from SP, and a population of A. totai from SP, all three of agronomic interest. The values of crude protein, soluble dietary fiber, flavonoids and carotenoids were obtained from the pulp of 50 plants of each A. aculeata mass and 100 plants of A. totali. The crude protein values found in the pulp were 6.25% for A. totai and 5.78 and 5.74% for A. aculeata.  Higher values of flavonoids were found in plants from the population of A. totai of SP (162.82 mgCE.100g-1), against 142.45 and 102.60 mgCE.100g-1 for plants from the aculeata massifs of MG and SP, respectively. In the case of carotenoids, the fruits of A. totai showed much higher values than those of A. aculeata, i.e., 10.99 against 1.46 and 2.26 mg β-carotene