Extração do óleo de uxi (Endopleura uchi) com CO2 Supercrítico: parâmetros de processo e qualidade funcional

Abstract

The uxi (Endopleura uchi) is a native species of the Brazilian Amazon, with fruits consumed by the local population in natura forms or as pulp. Another form of food consumption includes the use of the stem for the production of herbal tea. However, the interest in the wood of this species by civil and naval construction contributes to the felling of trees, which harms the ecosystem. In order to contribute to the appreciation and consequent awareness for the preservation of the species, as well as to promote the application of the vegetable raw material in the industrial scenario, this work aimed to extract the uxi oil (Endopleura uchi) with supercritical CO2 at in order to identify the best process parameters, in addition to characterizing the product obtained (uxi oil) and potentializing possible applications as a functional food from the chemical composition. The uxi oil extraction process with supercritical CO2 was carried out at temperatures of 40 and 60 °C and pressures of 200, 300 and 400 bar using lyophilized pulp. The best extraction condition was observed at 40°C and 300 bar, with high overall yield, lower energy consumption and less work done by the pump. The chemical composition of the oil showed a predominance of unsaturated fatty acids, especially oleic (n-9) and linoleic (n-6) acids. Carotenoids were also quantified in the obtained product. The indices of atherogenicity (AI), thrombogenicity (TI) and the ratio of hypocholesterolemic/ hypercholesterolemic (H/H) indicated that uxi oil has good functional quality.