Óleo de andiroba (Carapa guaianensis): análise descritiva e proposição de potenciais usos tecnológicos

Abstract

The Amazon has the greatest genetic diversity of plant species on the planet, making it interesting for scientists and naturalists around the world. Among these species is andiroba (Carapa guianensis), a large tree of the Meliaceae family, which produces fruit, commonly called uriço, which has seeds and the product from these seeds is an oil known as andiroba oil. This oil has a bitter taste due to the presence of compounds known as limonoids. This oil is widely used in the Amazon region, both for medicinal purposes and for cosmetics. It is notorious, through research, that andiroba oil has been proving to be an important raw material for study due to its technological properties. However, there are no references in the literature about a broad characterization of the oil, obtained by artisanal process. Therefore, the classic physical-chemical characterization, the elemental description, the profile of fatty acids and volatile compounds were carried out. Also, the antioxidant, repellent and antimicrobial potential was evaluated. From the set of evaluations, it was observed that this oil has characteristics within the current standards; 16 volatile compounds were identified, among them the majoritarian was hexanal; oleic acid is the major fatty acid; it has potassium, followed by calcium and sodium, as the major cations; it has strong repellent activity against the bean weevil; and, it has no antimicrobial activity.