Chemical-functional composition of Terminalia catappa oils from different varieties

This study aimed to extract and physical-chemically characterize Terminalia catappa L. kernel oil from purple (CR) and yellow (CA) varieties. Physical-chemical parameters, composition of fatty acids, nutritional quality indices, bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity of both oil varieties were evaluated according to the literature. Both oils presented low levels of acidity and peroxides, besides the predominance of unsaturated fatty acids, similar to 63% of oleic and similar to 26% of linoleic acids, which influenced its nutritional indices. The CR oil variety exhibited a higher content in anthocyanin (18.3 +/- 1.5 mg.100 g(-1)), ascorbic acid (68.4 +/- 2.02 mg.100 g(-1)) and total polyphenol contents (152.3 +/- 2.4 mg GAE.g(-1)), and a good antioxidant activity (38.6 +/- 2.2 mu g TE.g(-1)) determined by TEAC assay, when compared to the CA oil (p < 0.05). Therefore, the results confirm the importance of T. catappa as a lipid source for human consumption to be used in the development of food products.