Acrocomia aculeata fruit pulp contains oil (4.1-82.8 % fresh matter) and carbohydrates (6.6-98.0 % fresh matter). To date, only the oil fraction is valorized because very little is known about the nature of carbohydrates. This study explores new ways of adding value to this pulp by developing simple and efficient extraction processes for its carbohydrate components and characterizing their structure and physicochemical properties over two harvest periods. A water-soluble monosaccharide fraction F1 (solubility limit (SL): 98.5-99.3 g/L) (yield: 21 % dry pulp (DP)), a water-soluble polysaccharide fraction F2 (SL: 93.3-95.3 g/L) (yield: 26 % DP) and two additional water-insoluble polysaccharide fractions F3 and F4 (SL: <8 g/L) (yields: 10 and 19 % DP, respectively) were isolated. NMR structural characterizations of fraction F2 revealed it to be a linear glucomannan with β-(1 → 4) osidic linkages between d-Manp and d-Glcp residues. F2 is unique for its d-Manp/d-Glcp ratio of 3:1 and the position of its acetyl group (13-14 %, C-2 d-Manp). Finally, the polysaccharide showed a molecular weight (Mw) variation ranging from 8.2 × 104 to 1.1 × 103 Da over the two harvest periods, with remarkable emulsifying properties associated with a low Mw of F2 (stability >6 months, 1 % w/v in a water-in-oil emulsion).
Keywords: Acrocomia aculeata; Emulsifying properties; Glucomannan; NMR characterization; Oligo- and polysaccharides.
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