Potencial de aproveitamento da Carnaúba na alimentação humana: uma revisão integrativa.

Abstract

The carnaubeira (Copernicia prunifera) is a palm tree native to the Brazilian Northeast, which has high technological potential for the development of numerous products derived from all its parts that comprise from the root to its straw. The objective of this research was an integrative bibliographic review on the potentialities of carnaúba and its use in human food. The main product obtained from the extractivism of this palm tree is carnauba wax, from straw and has high added value due to its various applications (edible coatings, medicines, car polishing, and others). However, carnaúba, its fruit, which is composed of pulp and almond, can also be used for the development of food products (sweets, jellies, juices) due to the nutritional and bioactive characteristics that aid in the proper functioning of metabolism and human health. This work is an integrative literature review, and data collection is based on the scientific databases SciELO, ScienceDirect and Capes Journals in the period of 5 years (2015-2020). The research resulted in 1,123 articles published and after the application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 articles were selected for a more detailed analysis. It was observed in view of the results found that wax is the main object of study in the most diverse areas of knowledge, however, in the food area it is used as a structuring agent for other oil sums for the formation of oil gels and also as edible coatings of fruits. However, it was not possible to identify studies with the use of the fruit, intended for human food, in the established period, evidencing gaps that need to be answered with new research.