Cold pressed pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.) almond oil

Abstract

Pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.) is a typical fruit of Brazil. Both pulp and almond are suitable parts of fruit for oil production due to their high oil content (up to 30%). The oil from pulp and almonds are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) especially oleic acid (about half of total fatty acids). Saturated fatty acid (SFA) content of pequi oil is also rich (up to 40% of total fatty acids) when compared with many vegetable oils. The major SFA is palmitic acid, with a level of 33.3%-35.8%. The amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in pequi oil is low (6.39%-7.23%) among other fatty acid groups. As for minor components, pequi oil contains tocopherols, sterols, and squalene, all of which have biological activities on human health. Among tocopherols, a-tocopherol is the predominant isomer in oil (79.7-100 mg/kg). Campesterol is the major sterol compound with a range of 38.0-48.0 mg/kg oil. Squalene content is reported as 181 µg/g oil. Cold pressed pequi oil (CPPO) could be used to treat some diseases due to antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.