| Astrocaryum aculeatum | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Genus: | Astrocaryum |
| Species: | A. aculeatum |
| Binomial name | |
| Astrocaryum aculeatum | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Astrocaryum tucumaMart. | |
Astrocaryum aculeatum (known inBrazilian Portuguese astucumã,acaiúra,acuiuru,coco-tucumã,tucum,tucumã-açu,tucumã-macaw,tucum-açu,tucumaí-da-terra-firme,tucumãí-uaçu,tucumã-piririca,tucumã-purupuru ortucumã-do-mato[citation needed]) is apalm native to tropicalSouth America andTrinidad.[1] It grows up to 15 m (49 ft) tall and is usually solitary. It has ascending leaves, erect inflorescence, and yellow fruit.
tucumã derives fromtuku'mã in theTupi language.[2]
Astrocaryum aculeatum was first described byGermanbotanistGeorg Friedrich Wilhelm Meyer in 1818 based on a specimen from theEssequibo River inGuyana.[3]
Astrocaryum aculeatum is found in and around theAmazon Basin, fromTrinidad and Tobago in the north, throughVenezuela,Guyana,Suriname, theBrazilian states ofAcre,Amazonas,Pará,Rondônia,Roraima and south through theBolivian departments ofBeni,Pando,Santa Cruz.[4]
This plant hasediblefruit which may be used for making a kind of juice.[5] It is also used to make a symbolic ring called atucum ring. Tucum ring is mainly used in Catholic church as a symbol of commitment in social justice, peace building and ecology.
A fiber is extracted from the leaves for making hammocks and ropes that resist salt water.[2]
The fruit oftucumã is composed of a woody core almost black in color, containing the white paste of the seed (colloquially called an almond in Brazil) and covered with a yellow-orange pulp. Two types of oils are produced from this fruit: the oil of the external pulp and the almond oil.[6]
The oil extracted from the pulp contains 25.6%saturated fatty acids and 74.4%unsaturated fatty acids composed ofpalmitic,stearic,oleic, andlinoleic acids. It can be used as anemollient. The value ofbeta-carotene (which is 180 to 330 milligrams/100g oil) is more concentrated in the oil than in the pulp.[7]
| Fatty acid composition of the oil Tucumã (Pulp) | |
|---|---|
| Palmitic | 27,7% |
| Oleic | 65,67% |
| Linoleic | 3,65% |
| Linolenic | 4,97% |
Thetucuma pulp oil could in the future be used to manufacture soap, body lotions or hair care products.[7]
Physico-chemical data
| Index | Unity | Reference values |
| Free fatty acids | % | 1.4562 |
| Refractive Index | - | 1.4562 |
| Index of Iodine | gl2 / 100g | 82 |
| Saponification value | mg KOH / g | 188.4 |
| Materia unsaponifiable | % | 1,4 |
| Acidity | mgKOH / g | 2.58 |
| Index of Peroxide | meq / kg | 1.72 |
| Density | g / L | 0.982 |
| Melting | °C | 27-35 |
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