3 1. Introduction Buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L.) is a palm tree found from the Atlantic forest to the cerrado (a vast tropical savanna ecoregion) of the Brazilian north, northeast and mid-west in the state of Minas Gerais (Manzi and Coomes, 2009). It also extends to the state of Mato Grosso, as well as Boliv- ia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. There is debate between Brazilian and Peruvian scientists about its origin (Caval- cante, 1991). Female buriti palm trees produce four to eight infruc- tescences, and each raceme bears 500-2000 fruits (Gould- ing and Smith, 2007). The fruit is a reddish-brown drupe, with a thin oily yellow-orange pulp that surrounds a relatively large seed (Manzi and Coomes, 2009). The oil contains tocopherols (de França et al., 1999; Albuquerque et al., 2005), carotenoids (Mariath et al., 1989; Silva et al., 2009) and pro-vitamin A (Mariath et al., 1989; Klemm et al., 2008). Moreover, candy made from buriti is an effec- tive treatment of xerophthalmia in children in northeastern Brazil, but the fruit used to make it is not easily preserved. It is good for no more than two to three days under ambi- ent conditions. The buriti fruit has a hard, red shell that covers an oily pulp that contains carotenoids and ascorbic acid (EM- BRAPA, 2007; Silva et al., 2007). The local population collects the fruits when they are released from the mother plant and most of the fruits on the ground are near the de- sired state of maturity. A 55-kg bunch produces 40 kg of fruits. The local population collects the fruits that they are going to use from the ground. Buriti and products made from it are widespread in the Brazilian cerrado. The fruit pulp is used to make a flour for a porridge that helps meet the nutritional requirements of the locals (Almeida and Silva, 1994). The fruit is also a source of vegetable oil, as described by Albuquerque et al. (2003). These authors obtained an IR spectrum of the oil that re- vealed the presence of triolein, the triglyceride of oleic acid, which could be used to control cholesterol in the blood. The oil has been reported to have a relatively high concentration of so-called monounsaturated fatty acids (de França et al., 1999), although it really contains fatty acyls that are a part of mono-, di- and triglycerides. That is, the oil had to be hydrolyzed to break down the mono-, di- and triglycerides, forming glycerol plus non-volatile free fatty acids, which are then converted to volatile fatty acid methyl esters and analyzed by gas chromatography (de França et al., 1999; AOAC, 2003). In order for the fruits to be used, they must be preserved properly. This is discussed in the next paragraph. Usually the fruits are collected in a form that is not easily preserved. The palm trees are cut to facilitate the removal of the fruits, drastically reducing the popula- tion of buriti trees in the Amazonian region of Peru. This forces the harvesters to travel long distances to gather a significant quantity. The management of buriti via extract- avism is small compared to the demands of the regional market (Manzi and Coomes, 2009; Horn et al., 2012). Ex- tractavism refers to natural tropical forest areas that are reserved for the extraction of potentially renewable com- mercial forest products. So, better storage methods are needed to meet the needs of the market and provide social benefits, which are described next. Buriti offers social benefits to the local population as a source of wealth and employment in the manufacture of products such as licorice, wine, candy, juice and sorbets. Refrigerated storage of the fruits of buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L.) E. Fujita*, R.L. Vieites*, É.R. Daiuto*, R.E. Smith**(1) * UNESP Botucatu, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, UNESP, C.P. 237, Botucatu 18610307, SP, Brasil. ** FDA, 11510 W 80th Street, Lenexa, KS 66224, Kansas, USA. Key words: Brazilian cerrado, buriti, Mauritia flexuosa, post-harvest. Abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate different storage conditions to maximize the shelf-life of buriti fruits; under ambient conditions the fruits last only 2-3 days. Buriti fruits were stored refrigerated at 10, 12 and 15oC with 85±5% relative humidity, and at room temperature (23±5°C) and 60±5% relative humidity. Fruits were analyzed every three days over a 12-day period for weight loss, respiratory activity, soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, lipids, protein and fiber. Under the considered conditions, refrigeration at 15oC was found to give the best results. Adv. Hort. Sci., 2014 28(1): 3-8 (1) Corresponding author: Robert.Smith@fda.hhs.gov Received for publication 16 September 2013 Accepted for publication 10 December 2013 4 However, these activities have not been given the technical or scientific support needed to make them sustainable and more profitable. While an adequate storage method has not yet been well defined, it is known that the fruit must be scraped off the seeds and dehydrated at room temperature, followed by refrigeration for an undetermined period of time (Almeida and Silva, 1994). Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate different storage conditions for buriti fruits in order to find the best way to maximize shelf-life with attention to the post-harvest behavior of the fruits so as to maintain their quality. 2. Materials and Methods The fruits used in the study were from the ecological preserve in Jalapão, near the city of Dianópolis in the state of Tocantins at 11°37’40” south latitude and 46°49’14” west longitude at an altitude of 691 m above sea level, where the trees grow in sandy soil. The fruits were picked from the trees when they were 3-4 cm in diameter and dark yellow to brown. The trees were not cut. Due to the height of the tree (10 m), a scaffolding was erected so that the bunches of fruit could be removed with the utmost cau- tion, to prevent damage caused by falling. The bunches were placed in a ventilated polystyrene box to maintain a temperature of 16°C. After collection, the fruits were sent to the Laboratório de Frutas e Hortaliças do Departamento de Gestão e Tecno- logia Agroindustrial da Faculdade de Ciências Agronômi- cas – UNESP, Botucatu, São Paulo, where they arrived after two days. They were separated randomly into four lots, each containing ten fruits. Three were stored under refrigeration at 10, 12 and 15°C and 85±5% relative hu- midity. The fourth lot (control) was stored under ambient conditions (23±5°C and 60±5% relative humidity). The following analyses were carried out on ten fruits for each storage condition: weight loss, respiratory activity, soluble solids, titratable acidity, and pH. Analyses were carried out for fruits that were viable for commercialization. Respiratory activity was determined by the release of CO 2 in each package according to the method of Bleinroth et al. (1976), using a saturated solution of barium hydrox- ide and 0.1 N KOH (0.1 Normal KOH, which is the same as 1 mol/L KOH) and using the formula: TCO 2 = 2.2 (Vo-V 1 ) 10 m t where: TCO 2 is the rate of respiration (mL of CO 2 Kg-1h-1); Vo = mL of HCl needed to titrate the KOH as a stan- dard before the absorption of CO 2 ; V 1 = mL of HCl needed to titrate the KOH after the absorption of CO 2 ; m = mass of the fruits; t = respiration time; 2.2 = equivalent weight of CO 2 (44/2), multiplied by the concentration of HCl; 10 = adjustment for the total amount of KOH used. Soluble solids, pH and titratable acidity were deter- mined by the method of the Instituto Adolf Lutz (IAL, 2008). Soluble solids were measured with a digital Pal- ette PR - 32 refractometer (ATAGO Inc., Bellevue, WA), equipped with automatic temperature compensation. Re- sults were expressed directly in oBrix. The pH was mea- sured with a pH meter and titratable acidity was mea- sured by titrating the acidic fruits with 0.1 mol/L NaOH. The amount of total sugars, lipids, proteins and fibers were determined using the method of Somogyi (1945) and Nelson (1944) by reacting samples with the Somogyi reagent and measuring the absorbance at 535 nm using a Micronal B382 spectrophotometer (Micronal, São Paulo, SP, Brazil). In detail, samples were diluted sufficiently so that an absorbance between 0.2 and 0.8 was produced af- ter reacting 1 mL of neutralized and filtered sample with 1 mL of Somogyi reagent. After putting the samples in a boiling water bath for 10 min, they were cooled to room temperature. Then, 1 mL of the Nelson reagent and 7 mL of water were added. Finally, the absorbance at 535 nm was read. The Somogyi reagent is an arsenomolybdate complex formed by the reaction of ammonium molybdate with sodium arsenate. The Nelson reagent was made of two parts: Part A contained 2.5 g each of Na 2 CO 3 and po- tassium sodium tartrate, 2 g each of NaHCO 3 and Na 2 SO 4 in 100 mL water. Part B contained 7.5 g CuSO 4 ·5H 2 O per 100 mL water, acidified with a drop of conc H 2 SO 4 . Glu- cose was used to construct a calibration curve. Total lipids were determined by performing a 2-h Soxhlet extraction on 3 g of sample using 200 mL of petroleum ether, evaporating off the solvent and weigh- ing the residue. Protein was determined on 0.1 to 0.2 g of sample using the Kjeldahl method using a conver- sion factor of 6.5 to convert percent nitrogen to percent protein. The experimental data were analyzed as a 4x5 matrix (temperature x time) by the SISVAR 4.6 program. Aver- ages were evaluated by the Tukey test at 5% probability (Gomes, 1987). 3. Results and Discussion Beginning on the third day of storage, a weight loss of >10% was found in all storage conditions. The fruits stored at 10 and 23oC had the greatest loss of mass after 12 days. The lowest loss was at 15oC (Table 1). All weight losses were calculated by comparing weights to day zero. Ten fruits were analyzed in each experiment. According to Finger and Vieira (2002) the weight loss of most fresh fruits should be 5-10% to avoid withering or wrinkling. Thus, buriti fruits examined suffered a weight loss that re- duced their commercial value. 5 Buriti fruits demonstrated respiratory behavior that is characteristic of climacteric fruits, as shown in Table 2. According to Chitarra and Chitarra (2005) they are char- acterized by a rapid increase in respiration and ethylene production during ripening. The apparent peak at day three of storage was probably due to an adaptation of the fruits to the storage conditions. The fruits that were kept at ambient temperature had their peak respiration on the sixth day of storage, while the fruits stored under other conditions had their peak respiration on the ninth day of storage. The lowest respiratory activity (lowest production of CO 2 ) was found in fruits stored at 10ºC, i.e. with the lowest production of CO 2 . Therefore, a temperature of 15ºC proved to be the most effective for storing the fruits as it resulted in the lowest loss of weight and the latest peak in respiratory activity. The amounts of soluble solids, pH and titratable acidity are shown in Table 3. Table 1 - Weights of buriti when stored refrigerated Temperature Initial Wt. (g) 3 days (g) 6 days (g) 9 days (g) 12 days (g) 10°C 263.03±7.81 a 238.43±5.74 a 214.50±6.78 a 197.95±3.98 a 191.60±2.45 b 12°C 256.32±6.82 a 237.31±4.81 a 222.10 ±4.91 c 212.56±4.89 c 208.59± 3.99 c 15°C 261.23±5.73 a 245.60±5.97 b 233.65±5.60 d 226.13±6.71 d 223.12± 4.58 d Ambient 274.75±6.99 b 251.80±6.52 c 229.53±4.57 b 207.65± 5.86 b 194.47±4.98 a Averages followed by the same lower case letter do not differ significantly from others in the same column and those followed by the same upper case letter do not differ significantly from others in the same row by the Tukey test at 5% probability. Table 2 - Respiratory activity in buriti fruits stored under refrigeration and 80 ± 5% relative humidity for 12 days Respiratory Activity Temperature Days of storage 0 3 6 9 12 10°C 24.5±0.64 35.1±1.90 18.5±0.99 35.5±0.42 13.8±0.64 12°C 24.5±0.64 12.1±0.14 17.3±0.42 58.6±2.62 44.2±3.11 15°C 24.5±0.64 31.4±0.35 17.9±0.78 70.9±0.28 36.8±0.64 Ambient 24.5±0.64 54.2±0.28 55.6±0.07 50.8±0.35 - Averages followed by the same lower case letter do not differ significantly from others in the same column and those followed by the same upper case letter do not differ significantly from others in the same row by the Tukey test at 5% probability. Table 3 - Soluble solids (°Brix), pH and titratable acidity (g of acid 100g-1 fresh weight) in buriti fruits under refrigerated storage (80±5% relative humidity) and ambient conditions (23±5ºC and 60±5% relative humidity) Temperature Days of storage 0 3 6 9 12 Soluble solids 10°C 12.37±1.51 aB 14.67±0.58 aAB 16.33±2.52 aA 15.00±1.73 aAB 16.00±0.00 aA 12°C 12.37 ±1.51 aA 14.67±0,58 aA 14.00±0 abA 13.66±0.58 aA 14.67±1.53 aA 15°C 12.37 ±1.51 aB 14.67±1.53 aAB 13.33 ±2.08 bcAB 12.67± 0.58 aB 16.00 ±0.0 aA Ambient 12.37±1.51 aA 10.33±0,58 bB 10.80±0.00 cB - - C.V. (%) 9.37 pH 10°C 3.83± 0.06 aC 3.77± 0.58 abC 4.33±0.15 aAB 4.57±0.06 aA 4.1±0.00 abB 12°C 3.83 ±0.06aC aBC 3.73±0.58 abC 4.07 ±0.15 bAB 3.93± 0.23 bBC 4.23±0.25 aA 15°C 3.83± 0.06aC aBC 3.67±1.53 bC 4.13±0.06 abA 4.00±0.10 bAB 3.97±0.12b AB Ambient 3.83±0.06aC aB 3.90±0.58 aAB 4.10 ±0.0 bA - - C.V. (%) 2.63 Titratable acidity 10°C 0.68±0.06 aB 0.84±0.02 aA 0.41±0.02 aC 0.47±0.07 bC 0.60±0.00 Ab 12°C 0.68 ±0.06 aB 0.84±0.02 aA 0.51 ±0.03 aC 0.60 ±0.04 aBC 0.52±0.05 aC 15°C 0.68 ±0.06 aAB 0.76 ±0.02 aA 0.49±0.02 aC 0.58±0.04 abBC 0.60 ±0.01 aAB Ambient 0.68± 0.06 aA 0.63±0.02 bA 0.42±0.00 aB - - C.V. (%) 9.54 Averages followed by the same lower case letter do not differ significantly from others in the same column and those followed by the same upper case letter do not differ significantly from others in the same row by the Tukey test at 5% probability. 6 The amount of soluble solids did not show a significant difference when stored at 10, 12 or 15°C. The fruits stored under ambient conditions exhibited a decrease in soluble solids on day three, but it dropped no further on day six. On the ninth day, contamination by the fungus Monilinia fructicola was observed and this made the fruits unsuitable for consumption. The fruits stored under ambient condi- tions maintained a relatively low amount of soluble solids during the experimental period, possibly due to the low- er respiratory rate compared to refrigerated storage. The small increase in the concentration of soluble solids at the end of the experiment could be related to the weight loss. On the third day of storage, there was a tendency for the pH to increase, as shown in Table 3. In the case of am- bient storage, this can be due to the process of senescence (Chitarra and Chitarra, 2005). The increase in pH was seen throughout the experiment. When stored at 10°C, the pH was nearly constant on day three, but increased on days six and nine, followed by a decrease on day 12. When stored under ambient conditions, the pH increased until the last day of analysis. The titratable acidity increased on day three under all storage conditions, followed by a decrease on subsequent days. Ambient storage presented the lowest amount of ti- tratable acidity, probably due to infestation by pathogens that consumed acid in their metabolism (Chitarra and Chi- tarra, 2005; Özcan and Haciseferogullari, 2007). The data on total sugars, lipids and protein are present- ed in Table 4. Albuquerque et al. (2005) reported levels of total sug- ars in buriti that varied by about 2.10%, similar to what we found. Moreover, Hiane et al. (1992) reported values of 11.36% ± 1.81, which are higher than those found in the present experiment. The amount of total sugars increased from day zero to the third day of storage, followed by a decrease on the sixth day and increases on subsequent days. Carbohydrates are oxidized by the respiratory process (Chitarra and Chi- tarra, 2005; Rodriguez-Guisado et al., 2009), causing the decrease. The increase in concentration on later days was probably related to the loss of weight. According to Cavalcante (1991), buriti fruit contains a relatively large amount of lipids, which are an impor- tant source of energy. This was also reported by de França et al. (1999), Albuquerque et al. (2005), and Silva et al. (2009), Rodrigues et al. (2010). However, all these authors reported finding free fatty acids, when they were most likely fatty acyls as a part of mono-, di- and triglycerides. Table 4 - Amounts of total sugars, lipids, protein and fiber (%) in buriti fruits under refrigerated storage (80±5% relative humidity) and ambient conditions (23±5ºC and 60±5% relative humidity) for 12 days Temperature Storage Days 0 3 6 9 12 Total sugars 10°C 2.22 aB 3.25 aA 0.91 aC 1.29 bC 2.72 aAB 12°C 2.22 aB 2.93 aA 0.80 aC 2.69 aAB 2.42 aAB 15°C 2.22 aB 3.09 aA 0.83 aC 2.40 aB 2.68 aAB Ambient 2.22 aB 3.07 aA 0.96 aC - - C.V. (%) 12.64 Lipids 10°C 14.00 aC 18.67 aB 18.53 aB 14.80 cC 21.00 aA 12°C 14.00 aC 18.13 aB 17.30 abB 18.23 aB 21.33 aA 15°C 14.00 aC 15.67 bB 16.93 abB 16.70 bB 20.47 aA Ambient 14.00 aB 13.30 cB 18.00 bA - - C.V. (%) 3.65 Protein 10°C 0.26 aD 0.26 aB 0.35 aB 0.37 aC 0.33 aA 12°C 0.26 aC 0.25 aB 0.21 cB 0.29 bB 0.31 bA 15°C 0.26 aB 0.21 bB 0.35 aB 0.27 bB 0.26 cA Ambient 0.26 aB 0.22 bB 0.29 bA - - C.V. (%) 2.75 Fiber 10°C 10.43 aC 10.73 aBC 10.10 bC 11.30 aB 13.00 aA 12°C 10.43 aC 9.60 bD 10.37 abCD 11.70 aB 12.67 aA 15°C 10.43 aC 8.50 cD 10.90 aC 11.53 aAB 11.83 bA Ambient 10.43 aA 8.70 cB 10.50 abA - - C.V. (%) 3.37 Averages followed by the same lower case letter do not differ significantly from others in the same column and those followed by the same upper case letter do not differ significantly from others in the same row by the Tukey test at 5% probability. 7 This is a common mistake which is made when fatty acyl amounts are determined by gas chromatography (GC) only after hydrolyzing the glycerides. This forms free fatty acids, which are then esterified to form fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) that are volatile enough to be analyzed by GC. Therefore, a clever marketing or sales representative from producers of a competing company could say that all these studies demonstrate that buriti fruits rapidly turn ran- cid, since free fatty acids were supposedly found. When oils (glycerides) turn rancid, it is due to partial hydrolysis of glycerides to form malodorous free fatty acids. The ar- ticle by Silva et al. (2009) is especially confusing, since it reports actually finding 3.1% free fatty acids in buriti oil, based on their separation by size exclusion chroma- tography: it is not clear whether the authors really meant free fatty acids or fatty acyls that are part of triglycerides. They go on to report the profile of free fatty acids, but it is based on GC analysis of FAMEs, so it refers to the fatty acyl profile of mono-, di- and triglycerides. Vegetable oils contain mono-, di- and triglycerides, and therefore the analysis method requires that they be hydrolyzed into free fatty acids and glycerol, followed by forming volatile fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), which can be analyzed by gas chromatography (Mannina et al., 1999; AOAC, 2003). It is not clear whether the 3.1% free fatty acids separated by size exclusion chromatography were part of glycerides or if they were truly free fatty acids, caused by the oil turning rancid. However, the present experiment truly measured total lipids and found more than the 2.5 to 5.5% reported by Hi- ane et al. (1992) and Donadio et al. (2002). Albuquerque et al. (2005) reported finding 11.24% lipids. Carneiro and Carneiro (2011) found 18.16% lipids in buriti pulp. The amount of lipids increased starting on the third day of storage and stayed almost constant throughout the 12-day experiment (Table 4). On the third day, the fruits stored at 10 and 12°C showed no significant differences, but more lipids were found when stored at 15°C. The fruits stored under ambient conditions had fewer lipids that the fruits stored under refrigeration. On day 12 there were no significant differences in lipid content in the refrigerated samples. The increase in lipid concentration with time could be related to the weight loss that occurred. According to Donadio et al. (2002) buriti fruits had about 2.3 to 5.5% protein, while Hiane et al. (1992) found 2.12%, Carneiro and Carneiro (2011) found 1.30% and Darnet et al. (2011) found 3.7%. In the present study, there were no significant differences in protein concentrations in fruits stored at 10 and 12°C, but these values were higher than those of fruits stored at 15°C and under ambient con- ditions, which were not statistically different from each other. On the sixth day of storage, there was an increase in protein concentration, with the exception of those stored at 12°C. On the ninth day, the concentration of protein in- creased in the fruits stored at 10 and 12°C, while those stored at 15°C showed a decrease. Donadio et al. (2002) found that the fiber content in buriti fruits varied from 10.4 to 27.5%. Hiane et al. (1992) reported about 12.31% fiber. Darnet et al. (2011) found 22.8% dietary fiber in buriti fruits from the Amazon. The concentrations of fiber found in the current study ranged from 8.5 to 13.0%: on the third day, the fruits stored at 10°C had the highest concentration of fiber, followed by those stored at 12°C; those stored at 15°C and under am- bient conditions had the lowest concentrations and were not significantly different from each other. Starting on the third day there was an increase in the concentration of fi- ber which then continued slowly throughout the 12-day experiment. The increase could be simply due to the loss of weight, so the total amounts were about the same. 4. Conclusions Refrigeration was effective in extending the shelf-life of buriti fruits, increasing it by at least three days. The data presented regarding the decrease in weight and respiratory activity demonstrate that a temperature of 15°C was the most effective in maintaining the quality of buriti fruits. This work should not be taken as reflecting FDA policy or regulation. References ALBUQUERQUE M.L.S., GUEDES I., ALCANTARA P. Jr., MOREIRA S.G.C., 2003 - Infrared absorption spectra of Buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L.) oil. - Vibrat. Spectroscopy, 33: 127-131. ALBUQUERQUE M.L.S., GUEDES I., ALCANTARA P. Jr., MOREIRA S.G.C., BARBOSA NETO N.M., CORREA D.S., ZILIO S.C., 2005 - Characterization of Buriti (Mau- ritia flexuosa L.) oil by absorption and emission spectrosco- pies. - J. Braz. Chem. Soc., 16(6): 113-117. ALMEIDA S.P., SILVA J.A., 1994 - Piqui e Buriti - Importân- cia alimentar para a população dos cerrados. - Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária do Brasil (EMBRAPA - CPAC), Planaltina, DF, Brasil, pp. 25-34. AOAC, 2003 - AOAC official method 969.33. Fatty acids in oils and fats. - AOAC International Gaitherburg, MD, USA. BLEINROTH E.W., ZUCHINI A.G.R., POMPEO R.M., 1976 - Determinaçâo das características fisícas e mecânism de var- iedades de abacate e a su conservaçâo pelo frio. - Coletânea do Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos, 7(1): 29-81 CARNEIRO T.B., CARNEIRO J.G.M., 2011 - Frutos e polpa desidratada buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L). - Rev. Verde de Agroecol. Desenvolv. Sustent., 6(2): 105-111. CAVALCANTE P.B., 1991 - Frutas Comestíveis da Amazônia 5º ed. ver. - Ed. CEVUP, Belém, Brasil, pp. 168-171. CHITARRA M.I.F., CHITARRA A.B., 2005 - Pós-colheita de frutos e hortaliças: Fisiologia e Manuseio. - ESAL/FAEPE, Lavras, MG, Brasil, pp. 785. DARNET S.H., DA SILVA L.H.M., RODRIGUES A.M.C., LINS R.T., 2011 - Nutritional composition, fatty acid and tocophenol contents of buriti (Mauritia flexuosa) and patawa (Oenocarpus bataua) fruit pulp from the Amazon region. - Ciênc. Tecnolog. Alimen., 31(2): 488-491. 8 DE FRANÇA L.F., REBER G., MEIRELES M.A.A., MACHA- DO N.T., BRUNNER G., 1999 - Supercritical fluid extrac- tion of carotenoids and lipids from buriti (Mauritia flexuo- sa), a fruit from the Amazon region. - J. Supercrit. Fluid., 14: 247-256. DONADIO L.C., MORÔ F.V., SERVIDONE A.A., 2002 - Fru- tas Brasileiras. - Editora Novos Talentos, Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo, Brasil, pp. 90-93. EMBRAPA, 2007 - Frutas Nativas do Cerrado. Embrapa cer- rado. - www.cpac.embrapa.br/tecnologia/foranativa.html. FINGER F.L., VIEIRA G., 2002 - Controle da perda pós-col- heita de água em produtos hartícolas. - Viçosa, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, Brasile. GOMES F.P., 1987 - Curso de estatística experimental. 12. ed. - Nobel Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brasil, pp. 467. GOULDING M., SMITH N., 2007 - Palms: Sentinels for Ama- zon Conservation. - Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, Mis- souri, MO, USA. HIANE P.A., LIMA RAMOS M.I., RAMOS FILHO N.M., GONÇALVES PEREIRA J., 1992 - Composição centesimal e perfil e ácidos graxas de alguns frutos nativos do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. - Boletin Centro de Pesquisa Proc- essamento de Alimentos, 10(1): 35-42. HORN C.M., GILMORE M.P., ENDRESS B.A., 2012 - Eco- logical and socio-economic factors influencing aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa) resource management in two indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon. - Forest Ecol. Manag., 267: 93-103. IAL, 2008 - Métodos físico-químicos para análise de alimentos. - Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, Brasil, pp. 1020. KLEMM R.D.W., LABRIQUE A.B., CHRISTIAN P., RASHID M., SHAMIM A.A., KATZ J., SOMMER A., WEST K.P. Jr., 2008 - Newborn Vitamin A supplementation reduced infant mortality in rural Bangladesh. - Pediatrics, 122: 242-250. MANNINA L., LUCHINAT C., EMANUELE M.C., SEGRE A., 1999 - Acyl position distribution of glyceryl triesters in vege- table oils: A 13C NMR study. - Chem. Phys. Lipid, 103: 47-55. MANZI M., COOMES O.T., 2009 - Managing Amazonian palms for community use: A case of aguaje palm (Mauritia flexuosa) in Peru. - Forest Ecol. Manag., 257: 510-517. MARIATH J.G., LIMA M.C., SANTOS L.M., 1989 - Vitamin A activity of buriti (Mauritia vinifera Mart.) and its effec- tiveness in the tratment and prevention of xerophthalmia. - Amer. J. Clin. Nutr., 49: 849-853 NELSON N.A., 1944 - Photometric adaptation of the Somogyi method for the determination of glucose. - J. Biol. Chem., 153: 75-80. ÖZCAN M.M., HACISEFEROGULLARI H., 2007 - The Strawberry (Arbutus unedo L.) fruits: Chemical composition physical properties and mineral contents. - J. Food Eng., 78: 1022-1028. RODRIGUES A.M.C., DARNET S., DA SILVA L.H.M., 2010 - Fatty acid profiles and tocopherol contents of buriti (Mauritia flexuosa), patawa (Oenocarpus bataua), tucuma (Astrocaryum vulgare), mari (Poraqueiba paraensis) and inaja (Maximiliana maripa) fruits. - J. Braz. Chem. Soc., 21: 2000-2004. RODRIGUEZ-GUISADO I., HERNANDEZ F., MELGAREJO P., LEGUA P., MARTINEZ R., MARTINEZ J.J., 2009 - Chemical, morphological and organoleptical characteriza- tion of five Spanish quince tree clones (Cydonia oblonga Miller). - Scientia Horticulturae, 122: 491-496. SILVA J.M., COELHO M.J., LIMA K.S.C., LIMA A.L.S., GO- DOY R.L.O., PACHECO S., FERREIRA R.S., 2007 - Eval- uation of carotenoid contents in irradiated buriti (Mauritia fexuosa L.). - International Nuclear Atlantic Conference, Santos, SP, Argengina, pp. 5. SILVA S.M., SAMPAIO K.A., TAHAM T., ROCCO S.A., CE- RIANI R., MEIRELLES A.J.A., 2009 - Characterization of oil extracted from buriti fruit (Mauritia flexuosa) grown in the Brazilian Amazon region. - J. Amer. Oil Chem. Soc., 86(7): 611-616. SOMOGYI M., 1945 - Determination of blood sugar. - J. Biol. Chem., 160: 69-73.