Vitamin A in peach palm is highly bioavailable (Yuyama et al. 1991). Peach palm processing offers a good option for making use of fruit types that consumers do not prefer for direct consumption and for thus alleviating problems of overproduction. Nutritional value of peach palm Nutritional composition

Peach palm can be consumed in large quantities, serving mainly as an energy source that is poor in selleck screening library proteins and minerals (Leterme et al. 2005). Its nutritional composition varies depending on the ecotype and geographic region. The fruit’s oil and starch content are particularly variable (Table 4). The most important mineral elements in peach palm are potassium, selenium and chromium (Yuyama et al. 2003). One kilogram of peach palm protein contains, on average,

16–49 g of lysine, 8–13 g of methionine, 19 g of cysteine, 27–39 g of threonine and 4.5–7 g of tryptophan (Leterme et al. 2005). The fruits contain all essential Cabozantinib and non-essential amino acids, with tryptophan and methionine showing the lowest concentrations (Yuyama et al. 2003). Andrade et al. (1998) analyzed volatile constituents of peach palm, finding that limonene constitutes the major component (52.9 %). Texture analysis showed a firmness loss of 2.0, on average. Dry matter was strongly correlated with texture both in raw and cooked peach palm. It is also correlated with fat and protein content (Giraldo et al. 2009; Rodriguez et al. 2009), though starch content was found to be inversely correlated with oil Temsirolimus solubility dmso (Leterme et al. 2005; Giraldo et al. 2009). Table 4 Nutritional composition of peach palm (% dry matter) Country Colombia Colombia

Brazil Venezuela Brazil Central America Number of ecotypes 46 17 3 20 – – Dry matter (%) 48.7 ± 8.5 41 ± 0.6 47.0 ± 3.5 – 44.3 44.2 Starch (%) 66.6 ± 4.6 71.6 ± 5.1 – 29.1–56.4 59.5 78 Protein (%) 6.2 ± 1.3 5.4 ± 1.4 2.3 ± 0.4 5.0–8.3 6.9 5 Lipids (%) 11.5 ± 5.8 11.4 ± 3.5 7.7 ± 3.2 5.1–17.3 23 12.6 Fibers (%) 4.7 ± 4.3 2.0 ± 0.8 6.6 ± 1.5 8.1–21.0 9.3 2.8 Total sugars (%) 3.3 ± 1.1 2.1 ± 0.9 – – – – Ash (%) 2.7 ± 1.1 1.8 ± 0.4 0.6 ± 0.1 – 1.3 1.6 Source Giraldo et al. ( 2009) Leterme et al. (2005) Yuyama et al. (2003) Pacheco de Delahaye et al. (1999) Arkcoll and Aguiar (1984) Johannessen (1967) Carrera (1999) studied the chemical and physical properties of starches isolated from six Peruvian peach palm phenotypes. Starch was found to represent the highest share of dry matter composition, suggesting that peach palm is an excellent starch source for the Amazon region. The properties of peach palm starch require further study to determine possible industrial uses. Jane et al. (1992) isolated starch from peach palm originating in different parts of Costa Rica and studied its pasting, gelling and thermal properties. They found that amylose concentration range from 8 to 19 % and phosphorus content from 0.049 to 0.