Avaliação das propriedades físico-químicas das manteigas de Bati (Ouratea parviflora) e de Ucuuba (Virola surinamensis)

Abstract

Bati (Ouratea parviflora) and ucuuba (Virola surinamensis) are plants from which butters are obtained that have attracted the attention of the industry due to their previous application in cooking and with some medicinal functions through popular use. The objective of this work was to evaluate the physicochemical properties of bati and ucuuba butters. The characteristics analyzed of the butters were the fatty acid profile by means of gas chromatography, moisture and the indices of iodine, saponification, acidity, peroxide and refraction. The fatty acid profile of the bati butter showed a predominance of unsaturated fatty acids with the prevalence of linoleic (45.27%) and oleic (20.12%) acids, while the ucuuba butter showed a predominance of saturated fatty acids, especially lauric (37.80%), myristic (28.78%) and palmitic (12.70%) acids. The humidity of the bati butter was much lower than that of the ucuuba butter, as well as all the indices analyzed, with the exception of the refractive index, in which there was a slight difference, being higher in the bati butter. The results found for the bati butter were within specifications and in line with other published articles, with the peroxide index (1.28 mEq/Kg) and the acidity index (3.65 ± 0.19 mg KOH/g) standing out. The ucuuba butter consequently presented higher values of the indexes found for bati, with the exception of the refractive index. In addition, the acidity index value (9.95 ± 0.12 mg KOH/g) exceeded the maximum limit allowed by the legislation. Thus, the bati butter proved to be an excellent option for use in the food industry, whereas the ucuuba butter proved to be an excellent choice for its application in the cosmetic area.