A major problem experienced by agro-based industries is management of their wastes. Agro wastes and plant biomass in Brazil, in most cases, are not treated or reused. Therefore, the improper disposal can cause environmental damage.
The banana tree (Musa spp.) is one of the most cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries, and Brazil oscillates between the third and fourth position among the largest world producers, reaching to produce 7 million tons per year.
Much research has been done on the chemical composition of the banana peel as a way to value this biomass, by converting it into commercial products or directly used as functional compounds in human nutrition and prevention and health care. Fatty acids have numerous and varied applications, from the production of biodiesel and biolubricants, but also it has been proved to be of great value for a healthy human diet. The objective of this work was the development of a methodology for extration and quantification of fatty acids in banana peel. The extracts obtained from de Soxhlet extraction were concentrated and esterified by reaction with boron trifluoride(BF3) in methanol. The characterization of the compounds and their identifications were made through analysis by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A standard FAME mixture was injected and analytical curves were plotted for the major esters present in the extract. The best extraction was achieved with the Soxhlet extractor using methanol as solvent. The most abundant fatty acid was linolenic (4179mgKg-1), followed by palmitic (1528 mgKg-1), linoleic (1200 mgKg-1), stearic (1037 mgKg-1) and oleic (896 mgKg-1).
These compounds have already been reported in other studies, however in smaller concentrations, demonstrating that the method used was efficient and the exploitation of these abundant components could be a relevant contribution to the valorization of this waste from the banana processing industry.