Baru Almond (Dipteryx Alata Vogel) Essential Oil Content and Determination of Its Antioxidant Capacity

Abstract

Baru nuts, an oilseed native to the cerrado, have a high lipid content and constituents with antioxidant action such as tocopherols. Baru almond (Dipteryx alata Vogel) essential oil was extracted, dried and roasted to determine antioxidant capacity. The dried and roasted seeds were collected in the rural area of ​​a city in the north of Minas Gerais. They were crushed to obtain powder and sieved to determine particle size. The percentage of moisture in the seeds was determined and the vegetable oil was extracted in a Soxhlet extractor, using Hexane PA as a solvent. The antioxidant capacity of oils extracted from dried and roasted almonds was determined by DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) activity. Roasted and dried almonds had a moisture content of 1.1% and 1.8%, respectively. As for the oil content, the average yield was 52.93% for that extracted from dry almonds and 32.8% from toasted almonds. Dry seed essential oil showed lower absorbance, higher DPPH consumption, lower IC50 and very strong antioxidant activity index, corroborating a greater antioxidant capacity. This essential oil has great potential to be explored in the food industry.