This study investigated baru oil and partially defatted baru flour from the northwest region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The physicochemical characterization of the oil was made by determining the fatty acid profile using gas chromatography, lutein, and α- and β- carotenes by means of high-performance liquid chromatography, and total carotenoids by spectrophotometry. The flour was analyzed for its chemical composition, fiber, and mineral contents. Baru oil presented excellent quality parameters and high contents in unsaturated fatty acids and carotenoids. The flour showed relevant levels of proteins, lipids, and dietary fiber, in addition to having representative mineral contents for food such as manganese, magnesium, and copper. Thus, baru oil and the by-product of its extraction offer a rich chemical composition, and their application may add nutritional value to foods in addition to reducing negative environmental impacts.

Pasta products are generally formulated based on wheat flour, and the insertion of other vegetable raw materials, such as pequi fruit, can provide increased nutritional value, along with differentiated technological and sensory characteristics. Thus, the aim of this study was to produce pasta with different levels of substitution of wheat flour with pequi pulp flour, to determine its proximate composition and to evaluate its technological and sensory properties. Pastas were produced with 5%, 10% and 15% of wheat flour being substituted by pequi pulp flour, and there was also a control group. Technological analyses (cooking time, volume expansion, water absorption, cooking loss, color difference and chromaticity), chemical analyses (moisture, ash, lipids, proteins and total carbohydrates) and sensory tests (acceptance and intention consumption) were carried out. The main results showed that pequi flour promoted an expansion in volume and water absorption in the product; raw and cooked pasta had more intense colors; moisture, ash and lipid content was increased by using pequi flour; and the sensory test scores for the samples with pequi were high in relation to the control samples, with the formulations with the highest content of pequi flour being the best evaluated. It is concluded that the pastas with pequi flour are promising products for the food industry.

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Processed meat foods may be associated with poor eating habits, but the aggregation of vegetable ingredients, such as pequi (Caryocar brasiliense), makes the formulations of these products healthier and more nutritious. Thus this study aimed to characterize the chemical composition of breaded chicken prepared with pequi pulp flour in breading, as well as to evaluate the technological and sensorial properties of the breaded chicken. The pequis pulp from the region of Montes Claros - MG was dehydrated to obtain flour used in predust, with substitutions of 0%, 25%, 50% and 100% of the breadcrumbs flour. Meat products were chemically evaluated for moisture, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and ashes, technologically with measures of specific volume, yield, color difference, chromaticity, and tone of the breaded chicken, and sensorially by the evaluation of the intention of consumption and acceptance. As a result, pequi flour added lipid and protein content, improved yield, allowed higher specific volumes, and more intense color tones to the breaded. In addition, these presented good sensorial results and without significant differences among the studied formulations. It was concluded that the use of pequi flour in the production of breaded chicken can provide nutritional and technological enrichment to these products, without adversely affecting their sensorial characteristics.