The effects of microwave application on the physicochemical properties of bacaba (Oenocarpus bacaba Mart.) oil.

BACKGROUND Bacaba (Oenocarpus bacaba Mart.) has a high yield of oil, with the potential to produce biologically active natural products and can be considered a new "superfruit" with high value added. METHODS Acid value, peroxide value, refractive index, saponification value, p-anisidine value, relative density, iodine value, total oxidation value, specific extinction coefficients at 232 and 270 nm (K232 and K270), ΔK, and color were determined. RESULTS The most significant changes in the quality values, such as peroxide (26.25 mEq·kg-1), p-anisidine (11.41), acidity (14.66 mg KOH·g-1 oil), and total oxidation (63.92) were determined for 15 min of microwave heating. CONCLUSIONS The microwave heating promoted the acceleration of oxidative processes showing that, overall, much care should be taken when heating the bacaba oil by microwave to avoid oil degradation.