CARACTERIZAÇÃO QUÍMICA E PERFIL DE ÁCIDOS GRAXOS DA CASTANHA-DO-BRASIL (BERTHOLLETIA EXCELSA H.B.K.) DURANTE O ARMAZENAMENTO EM DIFERENTES EMBALAGENS

Abstract

The chestnut tree (Bertholletia excelsa H. B. K.) is a typical species of the Amazon rainforest, belonging to the Lecythidaceae family and is a wild commodity that stands out by its high economic value. Brazil nuts are recognized for their high nutritional value due to its concentration of lipids, proteins and vitamins, in addition to a significant amount of selenium. Therefore, the objective of this work was to characterize the chemical and fatty acid profile of Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa H. B. K.) during storage in different packages submitted to room temperature. The fruits were collected in the municipality of Tefé in Amazonas and the experiment was carried out in the Post-Harvest Laboratory of Vegetable Products at the Federal Goiano Institute - Rio Verde Campus, Goiás. With an initial water content of 25.12 g 100 g-1 a Brazil nut was submitted to the drying process in an oven with forced air ventilation at a temperature of 50 ° C until the moisture content 1.91 ± 0.31 g 100 g-1, after drying, the nut with a woody endocarp and the almond that was obtained after extraction of the woody endocarp were separated into two batches and packed in glass, paper, polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) packages, and stored in a laboratory environment with a temperature of 27.54 ± 1.76 ° C and relative humidity of 58.22 ± 8.6%. In the experiment was used an entirely randomized design, in a 2 x 4 x 6 factorial scheme, in two conditions (brown and almond), four packages (glass, paper, LDPE and PP) in six storage periods (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 months), with three repetitions. Quality assessments were carried out every two months evaluating the proximal composition, physicochemical and fatty acid profile of chestnuts and almonds stored in different packages. Results of the experiment demonstrated that the storage period influences the nutritional and physical-chemical quality of chestnuts and almonds. The polypropylene packaging was effective in keeping chestnuts and almonds stable throughout storage for moisture content, protein, ash and angle (°Hue). The content of lipids, energy value, carbohydrates, pH and titratable acidity showed a difference for both brown and almond conditions in the different packages during storage. Chestnuts and almonds differed in the content of soluble solids in the glass packaging, in which the chestnuts had the highest value. The micronutrients differed from each other at times zero and ten for different packaging and conditions. Phosphorus and potassium contents were higher in LDPE and PP packaging. The selenium content showed a difference between packaging for chestnuts and almonds in time ten, chestnuts stored in the glass package did not show any difference for Se content between times zero and ten, in relation to almonds all packages showed difference. The luminosity parameters (L) were not influenced by the storage conditions of chestnuts and almonds, for chroma and hue angle changes in color occurred during the storage periods in different conditions and packages. The values identified for aflatoxins at times zero and ten for brown and almond conditions remained within the limits established by current legislation. The fatty acids identified at time zero in Brazil nuts submitted to different storage conditions were Palmitic (14.8%), Linoleic (27.7%), Oleic (41.53%) and Stearic (14.3%), during the monitoring of times two and ten by gas chromatography (CG-DIC), chestnuts and almonds stored in different packages did not show variation in the fatty acids concentrations, and can be stored for a period of ten months.