Composição centesimal e mineral da polpa e amêndoa da carnaúba

Abstract

The growing interest in the consumption of native fruits in Brazil has contributed to the increase in the number of their researches, mainly in the native ones of Cerrado and Caatinga, such as carnauba. In this sense, it was objectified the centesimal and mineral characterization of carnauba pulp and almond, as well as to know its caloric value. For that, the skimming and decortication operations were carried out to remove the almond, which were then packed and frozen. The pulp and the almond were characterized as to their centesimal and mineral composition. For the almond, a good protein value was obtained even though it did not meet the minimum conditions of nomenclature of complementary nutritional information and a high calorific value, for both the almond and the carnauba pulp, with high amounts of carbohydrates in its composition. As for mineral composition, it was detected the presence of important minerals, both in the macrominerals group (P, Mg, Cl and K), and in the group of the microminerals (Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn). The almond was shown to have high copper content meeting daily consumption requirements, and both almond and pulp were considered sources of manganese because they meet the daily requirements for human intake. The phosphorus and magnesium present in the almond and pulp don’t even meet the daily intake needs of a normal adult. The highest mineral concentration found was for Bromine in the almond.