Dados do Trabalho

Título

TOTAL PHENOLICS, CAROTENOIDS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY IN BABASSU OIL (Orbignya speciosa)

Introdução

The demand for alternative sources of vegetable oils in the world is increasing. The babassu coconut oil has been highlighted as an excellent source of essential fatty acids for human nutrition. The scarcity of published studies about its properties hinders its applicability in the food industry. For this reason, the present study aimed to quantify antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds of cold-pressed refined babassu coconut oil of two commercial brands (A and B).

Material e Métodos

The total carotenoid content was determined according to Rodriguez-Amaya, the total phenolic content by the Folin-Ciocalteau method, and the antioxidant activity by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free-radical scavenging method. The results were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Resultados e Discussão

The content of phenolic compounds (0.08 and 0.06 mg gallic acid/g), total carotenoid content (1.3 and 2.36 μg β-carotene/g) and DPPH antioxidant radicals (108.43 and 94.29 µmol trolox/g) are fundamental to assist in the oxidative stability of the oil, since they act as natural antioxidants that preserve the quality of the raw material.

Conclusão

There was no significant difference between the brands regarding the content of phenolic compounds (p > 0.05). The difference between the two samples for carotenoid content and antioxidant activity can be explained by the difference between the growing regions (Goiás and Maranhão) and the degree of refining to which they were submitted. The study findings also revealed that the babassu oil exhibited high antioxidant capacities, especially compared to conventional oils such as soybean (10 mg/mL), corn (15 mg/mL), sunflower (14 mg/mL) and olive (17.5 mg/mL). Babassu oil can be considered of good quality for human consumption.