Extraction of fat from fermented Cupuacu seeds with supercritical solvents

Cupuacu (Theobroma grandiflorum) is a Brazilian Amazonian fruit. The seeds have a high fat content (62%) with characteristics that resemble that of cocoa butter and with potential applications in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries. In this work, new experimental data on the supercritical fluid extraction of fat components from Cupuacu fermented seeds using ethane and CO2 as solvents are reported. The extractions were carried out at 50 and 70 degreesC and pressure ranging from 24.8 to 35.2 MPa. The results revealed ethane to be the most efficient solvent in the removal of fat as compared to CO2. While both solvents were found effective in the removal of Cupuacu fat from the fermented seeds, triglyceride (TG) compositions as measured by HPLC and thermal behavior of extracted products obtained by differential scanning calorimeter revealed little fractionation capacity of either solvent. The lack of fractionation, observed earlier in the fractionation of milk fat is attributed to the similar TG components in Cupuacu fat (C:48-C:56). Solid fraction as well as melting point and enthalpy analyses indicated however slight changes in the saturated/unsaturated TG ratios in the extracted fractions as compared to the original fat. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.