Evaluation of the quality of Amazonian butters as sustainable raw materials for applications in bioproducts

Jefferson  Maia Feitosa; Thamires  Souza de Alencar Silva; Ana  Elizabete Xavier Fonseca; Wendel  Clei Souza Rodrigues; Amanda Carolline  Esquerdo da Silva; Cassia  Valeria Pinheiro Correa; Fagner  Sousa de Aguiar; Rosa  Helena Veras Mourão; Edilene Gadelha de Oliveira; Kariane Mendes Nunes

Jefferson Maia Feitosa Instituto de Saúde Coletiva – ISCO, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará – UFOPA, Santarém, PA, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1060-3916
Thamires Souza de Alencar Silva Instituto de Saúde Coletiva – ISCO, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará – UFOPA, Santarém, PA, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7625-5013
Ana Elizabete Xavier Fonseca Instituto de Saúde Coletiva – ISCO, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará – UFOPA, Santarém, PA, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4448-871X
Wendel Clei Souza Rodrigues Instituto de Saúde Coletiva – ISCO, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará – UFOPA, Santarém, PA, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3660-3906
Amanda Carolline Esquerdo da Silva Instituto de Saúde Coletiva – ISCO, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará – UFOPA, Santarém, PA, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2216-2380
Cassia Valeria Pinheiro Correa Instituto de Saúde Coletiva – ISCO, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará – UFOPA, Santarém, PA, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1906-6483
Fagner Sousa de Aguiar Instituto de Saúde Coletiva – ISCO, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará – UFOPA, Santarém, PA, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2204-7849
Rosa Helena Veras Mourão Instituto de Saúde Coletiva – ISCO, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará – UFOPA, Santarém, PA, Brasil
Edilene Gadelha de Oliveira Universidade da Amazônia – UNAMA, Santarém, PA, Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7568-8717
Kariane Mendes Nunes Instituto de Saúde Coletiva – ISCO, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará – UFOPA, Santarém, PA, Brasil http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2178-0336

Keywords: Amazonian butters, Fatty acids, Biocosmetics, Herbal medicines, Physicochemical properties

Abstract

A new consumer profile for pharmaceutical and cosmetic products has motivated research into natural raw materials in the development of “green” products such as herbal medicines and biocosmetics. However, various limitations have been encountered in the marketing of these products, for example the quality control of the natural raw materials used by the industrial market. This study aims to evaluate the sensory and physicochemical parameters of murumuru (Astrocaryum murumuru Mart.), bacuri (Platonia insignis Mart.), tucuma (Astrocaryum vulgare Mart.), and ucuuba (Virola sebifera Aubl.) butters for applications in pharmaceutical and cosmetic bioproducts. The acidity and saponification as well as the iodine and peroxide indexes were evaluated and fatty acid profiles for the samples obtained by GC-MS. The sensory properties of the butters showed the appearance of solid to soft cream, color (yellow, brown, buttercup, and ochre), and characteristic odor. The melting temperatures of all butters ranged between 31 ºC and 49 °C. The acidity, saponification, iodine and peroxide indexes for the butters were of 5.82 – 17.73 mg (NaOH or KOH) g−1, 181.10 – 573.55 mg KOH g−1, 2.78 – 44.96 gl2 100 g−1, and 1.39 – 9.30 meq kg−1, respectively. From analyses of the fatty acid profiles, the major components identified were lauric acid in murumuru (40%) and ucuuba butters (73%), myristic acid in tucuma butter (53%), and palmitic acid in bacuri butter (42%). In general, the results of the analyses differed from the specifications of the supplier reports and official compendia. These findings highlight the importance of quality control in natural raw materials to ensure their functionality in pharmaceutical and cosmetic bioproducts.