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Oenocarpus bataua Mart. (arecaceae): Rediscovering a source of high oleic vegetable oil from amazonia

Abstract:

The fatty acid (FA) composition of Oenocarpus bataua oil from 38 samples collected over a large geographical range (i.e. French Guiana and Peru) was analyzed. Fifteen fatty acids were obtained from the mesocarp of this palm species. Oleic (72.7%) and palmitic (18.1%) acids were the predominant FAs. Minor FAs were cis- vaccenic acid (2.3%), linoleic acid (1.9%), stearic acid (1.7%), palmitoleic (0.9%) and alpha-linolenic acid (0.8%). The mean lipid content of the dry mesocarp was 51.6%. The O. bataua oil samples analyzed were remarkably rich in α-tocopherol. By contrast, the other fractions of the unsaponifiable matter (sterols, carotenoids) did not show any noteworthy specificity in comparison with common vegetable oils. However, the particularly high percentage in Δ5-avenasterol of O. bataua oil could serve as a marker for its authentication. Results are discussed in terms of the potential nutritional value of O. bataua oil. © 2009 AOCS.