Comparative study on the quality of oil extracted from two tucumã varieties using supercritical carbon dioxide

The vast Amazon region has considerable territorial peculiarities and plant species diversity, sometimes from the same botanical family, which can exhibit significant differences in physicochemical properties. From this diversity, two species stand out – Amazonas tucuma (Astrocaryum aculeatum Meyer) and Para tucuma (Astrocaryum vulgare Mart.). The research focus is to analyze, comparatively, these oleaginous fruits, their similarities, particularities and potentials regarding the oil quality extracted from two tucuma varieties from the states of Amazonas and Para, obtained using supercritical carbon dioxide, under different extraction parameters. The results demonstrate the biometric particularities of each species, highlighting the Amazon fruit, which also showed higher oil yield using supercritical CO2 extraction. The fatty acid quality and profile aspects of the oils show their unsaturated predominance, considering carotenoid content and how the extraction temperature can influence the nutritional quality of the oils. The statistical analyses indicated that the Amazon tucuma oil is superior to the Para tucuma oil. However, in terms of added value both oils have potential applications in various industrial segments.