Physico-Chemical Characterization and Fatty Acid Profile of the Acrocomia emensis (Arecaceae) Seed Oil

In Brazil there are several oleaginous plants, with the potential to supply oil as raw material for various types of industries (cosmetic, pharmaceutical, energy, among others), among them we have the Acrocomia emensis (Arecaceae) known as tucum rasteiro. The objective of this work was to realize: extraction of the oil of the almonds using two types of cold mechanical press (walrus type and manual hydraulic type of 15 tons), physical-chemical analyzes (acidity index, peroxides, refraction, moisture and volatile material, ash, viscosity and density at 25 ºC) and fatty acid profile of the oil extracted from almonds of A. emensis from three localities in the northern state of Minas Gerais, Brazil (Bonito de Minas, Brasília de Minas and Montes Claros). The values of the physical-chemical indexes varied among the samples from the different locations. Extraction using walrus type press provided higher yield. The fatty acids of the oils of the three origins were: caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic. The majority in the three samples were the lauric acid.