Dados do Trabalho

Título

INTERFACIAL PROPERTIES OF MUTAMBA (Guazuma ulmifolia) AND PATAUÁ (Oenocarpus bataua Mart.) OILS

Introdução

The oils extracted from the bark of mutamba (Guazuma ulmifolia) and patauá (Oenocarpus bataua Mart.), fruits from the Brazilian cerrado and Amazon biome, respectively, have high levels of phenolic compounds and antioxidants and are considered alternative sources of oils since they have great potential for application in the food industry. This study aims to evaluate the interfacial properties of mutamba and patauá oils compared to soybean oil.

Material e Métodos

The interfacial tension of the oils/water was determined by the emerging drop method at 25°C using a PAT-1 tensiometer and calculated by analyzing the drop profile and adjusting it to Laplace's equation. The interfacial tension decay profile was monitored until the system reached dynamic equilibrium.

Resultados e Discussão

There was a significant difference between the three oils in terms of equilibrium interfacial tension (p < 0.05). The average equilibrium interfacial tension for patauá and mutamba oils were 18.53 mN m-1 and 13.88 mN m-1 , respectively, while for soybean oil it was 26.649 mN m-1.

Conclusão

These results can be attributed to the presence of substances naturally found in vegetable oils, such as phenolic compounds, tocopherols and phospholipids, which can act as surfactant molecules, migrating to the oil/water interface, reducing the interfacial tension. In refined oil, equilibrium interfacial tension values tend to be higher. This occurs because during the refining process, smaller compounds that have interfacial activity are removed. This behavior is corroborated in this study with soybean oil, which showed higher values of equilibrium interfacial tension compared to patuá and mutamba oils, which have not undergone the refining process. Equilibrium interfacial tension is an important parameter not only for the quality of oil processing, but also for possible techno-functional applications of these oils, such as emulsified systems. Reducing the instability of emulsions can be influenced by the ability of molecules at the oil/water interface to reduce interfacial tension. This study therefore highlights the possible viability of applying mutamba and patauá oils in the food industry as emulsions and other food products.