Proximal composition and antioxidant potential of Attalea phalerata (acuri) pulp harvested on the campus of the Federal University of Mato Grosso

Abstract

The Central-West region has several species of native fruits considered good nutritional sources and potent antioxidants, a fact that has aroused interest in the scientific community. Aiming to value species found in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso and considering the scarcity of studies related to the antioxidant potential of the mesocarp of Attalea phalerata Mart. ex Spreng (Arecaceae), this work aimed to evaluate the proximal composition of the mesocarp of A. phalerata and the antioxidant effect of fruits harvested on the campus of the Federal University of Mato Grosso. For the development of this work, analyzes of samples of the mesocarp (pulp) of A. phalerata, collected on the Cuiabá campus, located in Mato Grosso State, Brazil, were carried out. After pulping, the moisture, lipid, protein and ash contents were analyzed. The concentration of total phenolics was determined by the spectrophotometric method and the evaluation of the antioxidant potential was determined by the iron reduction method. The composition of the A.phalerata pulp analyzed in this study is mainly composed of water (45.56%), followed by carbohydrates (27.18%) and lipids (19.39%). The mesocarp presented total phenolic contents of 77.15 ± 7.17 mg EAG/ 100g of sample and 112.04 ± 1.05 µM of ferrous sulfate/ 100g of sample. In summary, the mesocarp of A. phalerata collected on the UFMT campus has high levels of carbohydrates, water and lipids and lower levels of ash and proteins. Furthermore, the mesocarp showed high antioxidant capacity despite the concentration of phenolic compounds obtained being intermediate to the values found in the literature.