CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE OIL AND PULP OF MAROLO (ANNONA-CORIACEAE)

Belonging to the Annonacene family, marolo (Annona corinceae) is a nat ive species of the Brazilian ''cerrado'' region (Minas Gerais, Goias a nd Distrito Federal) and can be found in South American tropical zones . Its fruits are highly consumed by local people and commercialized in markets or street stalls. There is, however, a tendency for the extin ction of marolo due to deforestation and the large scale plantation of monocultures instead of native plants. The literature still offers no data on the chemical composition of the proximate composition and vit amin C, A and tannin contents were carried out on the yellow marolo pu lp as well as the determination of the physico-chemical caracteristics of the seed oil. Five batches of fruit from the Alfenas region -south of Minas Gerais State- were analysed in this work and their average c omposition were: humidity 77%, total sugar 15%, reducing sugar 11%, cr ude protein 1%, lipids 3%, fiber 5% and fixed mineral residue 1%. The contents of vitamin C and A were 8.2 mg/100g and 117.5 RE/100g, respec tively, and the tannin content was 245 mg/100g. The results showed hig h fiber and lipid contents of marolo pulp in comparison with many othe r tropical fruit pulps. The vitamin C contents were equivalent to thos e found in avocado, pineapple and watermelon, while the vitamin A cont ents were equivalent to papaya, peach, guava and several other tropica l fruits. Marolo seed contains 45% of oil on a dry basis. Its composit ion and physico-chemical caracteristics showed the possibility of prod ucing a good quality oil, with great potential for the fine oil market . However the presence of alkaloids in the oil needs to be further stu died. Their elimination could be done by refining or extration in a co ntinous press. The results exalt the high quality of marolo pulp, show ing that the preservation of native species should be stimulated.