BIOCHEMICAL AND TOXICOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PULP AND SHELL FROM BARU (Dipteryx alata) COLLECTED IN GOIÂNIA-GO AND EVALUATION OF THEIR BIOTECHNOLOGICAL POTENTIAL

Baru (Dipteryx alata) is a leafy tree that grows in the Brazilian central plain (Cerrado) and other adjacent regions. Its fruits produce edible seeds which can be consumed as toasted nuts or used to produce several industrial derivatives, such as flour, liqueurs, desserts and others. Since pulp and shells from baru have a hard and woody consistence, they are not appropriate for consumption and are largely discarded during nuts derivatives production, generating big amounts of solid wastes. This work aimed to characterize nutrient content of baru’s shells and pulps, assessing total carbohydrate concentration (Dubois), reducing sugars (ADNS), total protein (Bradford) and total phosphates (Jacintho), as well as the presence of bioactive or toxic compounds using the bioassay with Artemia salina nauplii. The biotechnological potential of both shell and pulp samples was evaluated in flask fermentation process using a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain with high ethanol tolerance, substituting the carbohydrate source in fermentation broth by the studied samples and running the fermentation for 72 hours, when substrate consumption, cell growth and ethanol production were determined. Biochemical characterization showed the similar protein concentration in both shell and pulp samples (5.68 and 5.42 mg/g), while total and reducing carbohydrates showed the highest concentration in the pulp (385.97 mg/g and 300.21 mg/g, respectively). The highest phosphate concentrations were also found in the pulp (0.107 mg/g). No toxicity was observed in any of the shell or pulp samples, which displayed survival values above 80% in all Artemia salina cultures, even when added at the highest extract concentrations. Fermentation process showed ethanol yield values ranging between 1.47 and 3.14 % (w/v). These results confirm the potential of baru wastes as a rich nutrient source in fermentation processes and the possibility to reduce waste volumes during nuts derivatives manufacturing.