Among the species of fruit growing in the Amazon, the peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) is worth
mentioning, with its different varieties in terms of pulp and peel characteristics, size, and
shapes, and an important nutritional value. The natural hybridization promoted various plants
and the origin of a palm tree with an albino fruit variety (white peel and pulp). Although there
are fruits with yellow exocarp and white mesocarp, there is still no report in the scientific
literature about albino peach palm. Thus, this research characterized pulp and pulp flour of raw
and cooked albino peach palm. Macro and micronutrients, bioactive compounds, instrumental
color, thermogravimetric and differential stability, spectral parameters, morphological
structures, and functional and technological properties were evaluated. In the biometric
evaluation, parthenocarpic fruits (without seeds) and fruits with seeds were observed; both
constituted mostly by pulp (77%). The fruits of the albino peach palm were classified as a
microcarp variety. The composition showed that carbohydrates and water were the main
constituents of all samples. The cooking process increased the moisture content of the pulp but
decreased its proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates contents. The colorimetric parameters
indicated a significant browning and the intensification of the yellow color of the pulp after
cooking. The content of bioactive compounds varied among the samples, been observed a
reduction in the levels of total phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid in the pulp after cooking.
The four samples presented a maximum loss of mass at 300ºC, with different thermogravimetric
behaviors, according to the cooking and drying processes. The spectral patterns in the infrared
region, for the pulps and flours, showed characteristic bands of organic compounds, especially
hydroxyl OH, which are present in the structure of starches. Scanning electron microscopy
showed amyloplast and fiber bundles with starches in the raw pulp and gelatinized starch
granules in the cooked pulp and the flour from this pulp. The flour from raw pulp presented
small and heterogeneous starch granules, with isolated amyloplast, attributed to drying and
grinding operations. The two flours showed different granulometric distributions, but the
highest proportion of both flours was retained in a 250 mesh sieve. Values of water solubility
index were statistically different (p < 0.05) for both flours from raw and cooked pulp indicating
that the cooking and drying processes increase the number of soluble constituents in the
products. The water and oil absorption indices for both flour were significantly different (p ≤
0.05). The results indicate that pulp and flour from the pulp of albino peach palm are raw
materials important for consumption after cooking and to be exploited by the food,
pharmaceutical, and biotechnological industries.
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