Full Exploitation of Peach Palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth): State of the Art and Perspectives

Abstract

The peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) is a palm tree native to the Amazon region, with plantations expanding to the Brazilian Southwest and South regions. This work is a critical review of historical, botanical, social, environmental, and nutritional aspects of edible and nonedible parts of the plant. In Brazil, the importance of the cultivation of B. gasipaes to produce palm heart has grown considerably, due to its advantages in relation to other palm species, such as precocity, rusticity and tillering. The last one is especially important, as it makes the exploitation of peach palm hearts, contrary to what happens with other palm tree species, a non-predatory practice. Of special interest are the recent efforts aiming at the valorization of the fruit as a source of carotenoids and starch. Further developments indicate that the B. gasipaes lignocellulosic wastes hold great potential for being upcycled into valuable biotechnological products such as prebiotics, enzymes, cellulose nanofibrils and high fiber flours. Clean technologies are protagonists of the recovery processes, ensuring the closure of the product’s life cycle in a “green” way. Future research should focus on expanding and making the recovery processes economically viable, which would be of great importance for stimulating the peach palm production chain.

Understanding the Technical-Scientific Gaps of Underutilized Tropical Species: The Case of Bactris gasipaes Kunth

“…It is estimated that the international market for processed palm hearts (regardless of the species) is around US$ 500 million. Ecuador is the main exporter of canned palm hearts, totaling around US$ 65.6 million and 28.9 thousand tons in 2021, followed by Bolivia [ 77 , 78 ].…”

Spatiotemporal dynamics of a palm weevils' outbreak and susceptibility of peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) landraces in a germplasm bank in southwestern Colombia

“…In addition, its cultivation is a primary source of income for thousands of small farming families, especially in the departments of Cauca (4350 ha), Putumayo (3323 ha), Valle del Cauca (2961 ha), Choc o (716 ha), Caquetá (627 ha), Guaviare (438), Nariño (291 ha), Vaupés (175 ha), Amazonas (41 ha), Caldas (38 ha) and Meta (3 ha) (AGRONET, 2020). In terms of fruit production, the leading countries are Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Costa Rica (Clement et al, 2004;de Cássia Spacki et al, 2022). Accordingly, the peach palm's economic importance and cultural significance led Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru to establish germplasm banks to conserve its genetic variability (Clement et al, 2004).…”

“…The peach palm ( Bactris gasipaes Kunth) is present throughout the Neotropics and, thanks to its multipurpose nature, is a domesticated palm of outstanding socioeconomic importance on the Colombian Pacific coast (de Cássia Spacki et al, 2022; González‐Jaramillo et al, 2022; Ríos‐Reyes et al, 2016). While its distribution may be partly due to human movement and cultivation, it is considered a native species of the region (Galluzzi et al, 2015).…”

Improving Enzymatic Saccharification of Peach Palm (Bactris gasipaes) Wastes via Biological Pretreatment with Pleurotus ostreatus

“…Its cultivation has two main purposes, namely palm heart and fruit (palm peach) production. In the Brazilian Amazon region, fruit production largely predominates, whereas in southern and southeastern Brazil, palm heart production is the almost exclusive reason for the cultivation of pupunha [4,5].…”

“…), native to the Amazon Forest, and from juçara (Euterpes edulis Mart. ), native to the Atlantic Forest [4,5]. Although the economic index of the product is quite significant, the extraction of these species has contributed to endangering them, especially the juçara palm, which dies after the palm heart is harvested.…”