Oil From Three Aguaje Morphotypes (Mauritia flexuosa L.f.) Extracted by Supercritical Fluid With CO2: Chemical Composition and Chromatic Properties

Abstract

The chemical composition and CIELAB color parameters of oil from three aguaje morphotypes ( Mauritia flexuosa L.f.) extracted by supercritical carbon dioxide was investigated. By chromatography (HPLC and GC), spectrometry (UV/vis), and digital image colorimetry (digital camera), carotenoids, tocopherols, tocotrienols, fatty acids, total polyphenols, and CIELAB color space were analyzed. These findings showed that the oil obtained from morphotype 3 was superior in several analytes (carotenoids, polyphenols, oleic acid, β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol), while morphotype 2 and morphotype 1 showed very close profiles. The most similar chemical components in the oils of the three morphotypes were stigmasterol (16.00 to 17.81%), β-sitosterol (66.39 to 68.94%), palmitic acid (15.56 to 20.69%), and oleic acid (73.29 to 79.54%). The chromatic parameters ( L * , a * , b * , and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mml:msubsup><mml:mrow><mml:mi>C</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mtext>ab</mml:mtext></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>*</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msubsup></mml:math> ) were quite different except for the hue angle ( h ab ) (66.55 to 69.71 U), which showed some similarity. Aguaje oil is an interesting resource that stands out for its high content of carotenoids. All three morphotypes may be suitable for potential commercial applications.