Antioxidant Activity and Bioactive Compounds of Babassu (Orbignya phalerata) Virgin Oil Obtained by Different Methods of Extraction

The investigation of new sources of raw materials and the knowledge of the composition of the food is fundamental for the evaluation of their potential and the availability of nutrients for the consumer population.This work aimed to deepen the knowledge about the crude oil of babassu fruit obtained by two different methods of extraction, cold pressing and extraction by cooking the fruit almond.Total phenolic compounds contents and antioxidant activity were determined by ferric reducing antioxidant potential assay and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity assay. By liquid chromatography, the content of different bioactive compounds was determined. Data was submitted to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and compared by f test (p <0.05).The results showed that for most of the bioactive compounds there was no difference between the two types of babassu oil. For those compounds where the oils differed, the virgin oil had about three times the content of the extra-virgin oil. In addition, the antioxidant activity was higher for the oil extracted by cooking of the babassu mass, ranging from approximately 2.5 times higher up to 19.2 times higher than the antioxidant activity of the babassu oil extracted by pressing.The process of extraction by cooking the almond mass can incorporate a larger number of bioactive components and improve the antioxidant activity of the virgin babassu oil. However, the extraction method does not influence the content of tocopherols of distinct types of babassu oil.