Dados do Trabalho

Título

AÇAÍ SEED FLOUR: A PROMISING BY-PRODUCT WITH HIGH ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY FOR THE FOOD INDUSTRY

Introdução

Consumer demand for açaí pulp, recognized as a healthy food with bioactive properties, has progressively increased, accompanied by growth in the generation of waste such as seeds and fiber. The açaí seed, which can represent up to 90% of the fruit, is of particular interest due to its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. However, a large part of the volume produced is discarded inappropriately, causing significant visual and health pollution in the environment. Although the literature presents some applications of the seed in animal feed, agriculture, sustainable cement production, and handicrafts, there are still few studies that explore its application in food matrices. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of açaí seed flour with a view to its application in food production.

Material e Métodos

The açaí seed used in the study was donated by the cooperative of agro-extractive producers of Bailique, located in Amapá. To produce flour, the seeds were washed and sanitized with 5% NaClO, then dried in an oven for 48 h at 50 °C. Subsequently, they were crushed in a knife mill and sieved to obtain particles smaller than 0.075 mm in size. The antioxidant activity (ABTS and DPPH) of the flour was evaluated from an extract prepared using extracting solvents methanol 40% and acetone 70%. Analyzes were performed in triplicate, and results were calculated and expressed as a percentage of inhibition.

Resultados e Discussão

Açaí seed flour showed high antioxidant activity, with 99.7% inhibition of the ABTS radical and 92.6% inhibition of the DPPH radical

Conclusão

These results indicate that the açaí seed is an important part of the fruit, with a high concentration of bioactive compounds. The literature shows that antioxidant compounds help protect the body against diseases associated with natural aging, which increases the demand for foods with functional properties. Therefore, açaí seed flour reveals remarkable potential for application in different food matrices, offering a new possibility of using this by-product in addition to contributing to sustainable production and consumption of this fruit.