The fruit of peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) and its technological potential: an overview

Abstract

The Amazon hosts numerous fruit species, which are consumed by the local population and distributed by the local economy in the commerce markets, but most of them are unknown to the general population. Therefore, for a better understanding of the Amazon biome, the main objective of this review was to describe the physicochemical, nutritional and biological characteristics of the peach palm, highlighting its antioxidant potential. The peach palm tree is considered a polyvalent palm native to tropical Latin America, predominantly cultivated by small farmers in agroforestry systems, its fruits present high potential for functional food production because of the presence of bioactive compounds in its composition, and high nutritive value with considerable amounts of carbohydrates and lipids, as well as it provides an important source of vitamin A. Thus, an approach has been taken on the main topics for further studies that may benefit the industry and improve the local economy where these fruits are found. In view of this, the dissemination of works already performed with this fruit, strategically relevant, can stimulate new lines of research to consolidate this field for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Non-destructive determination of the oil content in peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) flour using NMR and NIR spectroscopies

“…A recent review, showed that the oil from the pupunha fruit has very interesting properties: it is liquid at room temperature and less prone to oxidation when compared to other oils with a higher concentration of linoleic acid (Costa et al, 2022).…”

Potencial nutricional e funcional do óleo da pupunha variedade amarela (Bactris gasipaes Kunth)

“…The oil extraction yield (OY%) was investigated by dividing the extracted oil weight by the total fresh weight of the pupunha according to equation (1).…”

“…With its popularization, mainly of its palm heart for the rest of Brazil, it has been more studied and consumed in its most varied forms, being able to produce byproducts, such as flour for addition in gastronomy or the use of its oil for culinary and study purposes. Peach palm is found in the most diverse shapes and colors, where its chemical content varies according to the type of peach palm [1][2][3].…”

Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from transverse thin cell layers of adult peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) lateral offshoots

“…Peach palm, also known as pejibaye, chontaduro, or pupunha ( Bactris gasipaes Kunth—Arecaceae), is considered the most highly domesticated palm species in the Neotropics and of economic importance in several countries of the American continent ( Clement, 1988 ; Mora-Urpí et al, 1997 ; Galluzzi et al, 2015 ), with fruit and palm heart being its most important products found in the market ( Clement and Mora-Urpí, 1987 ; Clement, 2008 ). The consumption of peach palm fruit was already important during pre-Columbian times ( Clement et al, 2004 ), and its nutritional and functional value has been the subject of recent analyses ( dos Santos et al, 2020 ; da Costa et al, 2022 ). However, the significant variability found in the composition of fruits from different accessions highlights the importance of having efficient systems for the propagation of selected materials ( Hempel et al, 2014 ; Chisté et al, 2021 ).…”