Brazil: Amazon fruit can replace palm oil in a more sustainable way

Published 2021년 6월 19일

Tridge summary

A doctoral student at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has discovered that tucumã, a fruit from the Amazon, can be a sustainable substitute for palm oil. Palm oil's demand has led to the destruction of tropical forests, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia. The tucumã oil can be used as a substitute for hydrogenated vegetable fat and is richer in polyunsaturated fatty acids, providing a health benefit. The research on the fractionation of unrefined tucumã oil was conducted at UFRJ and Monash University, and the study aims to use the oil in the production of biscuits. The oil is currently primarily used in the cosmetics industry and there is ongoing research for its use in biodiesel.

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Original content

Brazilian Maria Fernanda dos Santos Mota, a doctoral student at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), found in tucumã, a fruit from the Amazon, a sustainable substitute for palm oil, whose excessive consumption has caused the destruction of tropical forests for the expansion of its planting and threat to the survival of orangutans in the world. She explained that tucumã has the same properties as palm oil, also known as palm oil or oil. “At a certain temperature, this oil (from tucumã) breaks down, forming a more liquid fraction, which we call olein, and a more solid fraction called stearin,” he told Agência Brasil. According to her, the heavier fractions are used as a substitute for hydrogenated vegetable fat. Tucumã in the foot, characteristic fruit of the Amazon (Photo: Vinícius Braga/Embrapa) According to Maria Fernanda, when they discovered all the problems generated by hydrogenated vegetable fat, the researchers realized the property of palm oil as a substitute ...

Source: Agroinforme