Amazonian fruit has three times more vitamin C than orange

The results of the study developed at Inpa, with support from Fapeam, were published in the American scientific journal 'Journal of Food Properties', highlighting the fruit's potential for health

Research indicates that the caramuri (Caramuri Pouteria elegans), a fruit native to the Amazon, has a high potassium, iron and magnesium composition, besides containing more vitamin C than the orange. The results of the study developed at the National Institute for Amazonian Research (Inpa), with support from the Amazonas State Research Support Foundation (Fapeam), were published in the Journal of Food Properties, with the article Aromatic and nutritional profile of an Amazonian autochthonous species, Caramuri Pouteriaelegans (A.DC.) Baehni.

The work is the result of the project "Amazonian Fruits for Production of Functional Foods" supported by Fapeam, through the Amazonas Universal program edict no. 030/2013, developed by Inpa/MCTI researchers, Francisca das Chagas do Amaral Souza and Jaime Paiva Lopes Aguiar. The article was also signed by the researchers Dionísia Nagahama, besides the postdoctoral fellow, Edson Silva, and the professor of the Center for Higher Studies of Tefé (Cest - UEA), Raimundo Junior.

According to Jaime Aguiar, the study sought to encompass the fruit to analyze its nutritional constituents. "We found that Caramuri is very rich in minerals, fiber, magnesium, iron, calcium, and potassium. Besides all this nutritional composition, we also discovered that it is very rich in soluble fiber and insoluble fiber and that it has three times more Vitamin C than the orange," she says.

Potential to be used by the industry - Francisca Chagas points out that there was no scientific study for the fruit and that the result of the research indicated that the Caramuri has potential to be used by the food and pharmaceutical industries.

"Through the research, we found out that there is a community known as 'Caramuri', the same name as the fruit, which is interested in using the fruit, due to the good amount of production. Now is to join forces, the scientific knowledge with the producers and see the possible products that can be obtained from this raw material, obtaining a flour, or a drink, whatever is viable. We will test this knowledge to pass it on to the community and who knows, maybe in the future we will produce food products," he says.

Chagas explains that, besides the nutritional value, the functional value of the fruit was detected, which is also one of the focuses of the study. "We observed that it is rich in antioxidants, among them Pilene, and also antimicrobial. We identified a series of compounds belonging to the class of monoterpenes and terpenoids, compounds not only of interest to the food industry but also to the pharmaceutical industry.

Caramuri

Aguiar explains that the fruiting period of the Caramuri is from September to February, with trees that can reach 30m in height. "It is a fruit that is not widespread in the region mainly because there is a culture that says that it only appears every 4 years, through research we discovered that it can be reproduced in less time," he said.

Francisca Chagas emphasizes the importance of the research for society. "The idea in fact is to confirm the nutritional and functional potential of the Amazon Region fruits, expanding our range of studies and increasing the amount of fruits studied. With the support of Fapeam, it was possible to carry out this study, to increase this knowledge through research and show the population that we have great potential to be explored in our region," he says.

Universal Amazonas

The Amazonas Universal Program, held by Fapeam, aims to finance scientific, technological and innovation research activities, or technological transfer, in all areas of knowledge, which represent a significant contribution to the socioeconomic and environmental development of Amazonas in a public or private, non-profit research or higher education institution or research center, with headquarters or permanent unit in the State.

With information from the press office | Art: Suellen Sousa