**1. Introduction**

Brazil is currently one of the world's three largest fruit producers, associated with China and India. Brazil makes up 45.9% of world production a year, 2014 accounted for approximately 830.4 million tons of fruit [1]; many of them come from the Amazon region, where there is a diversity in economic fruit species, with huge agroindustrial and nutritional potential in the development of new products [2].

In addition, the Amazon region is home to a large biodiversity of plant species that produce fruit and oilseeds and stand out for their environmental conditions

(climate and soil) [3]. Because it has a huge territorial extension, diverse fauna and flora, it is a source of life and income for approximately 200,000 families that collect native fruits, whose commercialization is responsible for 10% of the total income from extractivism [4]. In this sense, countless native species of fruit plants from the Amazon present economic, technological, and nutritional potential.

Given the large production of fruits, mainly for the juice industry, the processing of these fruits generates a huge amount of by-products resulting from seeds, peel, and part of the fruit pulp, resulting in an amount of about 30–40% of the production of these fruits [5]. Given the increase in fruit production, there is an increase in the generation of the so-called agro-industrial by-products, which causes an economic impact, as there is no proper reuse.

Indeed, some studies report nutrient concentrations in fruit by-products even higher than in pulp [6, 7]. The so-called tropical fruit processing by-products have been increasingly used as food additives and sources of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols [8–10]. In addition, the appropriate reuse of these by-products can reduce the environmental impact associated with their disposal, adding value to the entire production chain. Thus, the physicochemical characterization of these by-products and the quantification of their bioactive compounds are of great concern to add value and improve their commercial and industrial reuse, preserving the biome [11, 12].

In the literature, there are several studies related to agro-industrial byproducts from fruits of the amazon region with the objective of finding a sustainable destination, among which are worth mentioning those related to the cocoa (*Theobroma cacao*) [13], cupuassu (*Theobroma grandiflorum*) [10], pracaxi (*Pentaclethra macroloba*) [14], and tucumã (*Astrocaryum vulgare* Mart) [15] by-products.

These species are native to tropical forests, originating from the Brazilian Amazon. Cocoa (*Theobroma cacao* L.) belongs to the Malvaceae family, has two varieties, Criollo and Forastero, and is 15–25 cm long and 8–13 cm in diameter, and the pulp is characterized by a thick mass of about from 20 to 40 seeds [16]. In 2015–2016, cocoa production was 3.9 million tons, of which 16.96% came from America, 73.11% from Africa, and 9.93% from Asia and Oceania. In contrast, in the same period, 16 million tons of by-products were generated, with Africa being the largest producer (73.12%), followed by America (16.88%), and Asia and Oceania (10.00%) [16].

Cupuassu [*Theobroma grandiflorum* (Willd. Ex. Spreng.) K. Schum.] belongs to the genus *Theobroma*, the latter being composed of 22 species of tropical plants from the Americas, including cocoa (*Theobroma cacao* L.). Among the Amazonian fruits, it is the one that brings together the best conditions of industrial use, and its pulp has great possibilities of use in the food and cosmetics industry. Due to the various applications in cooking, cupuassu has been arousing economic interest because its pulp is widely used in home and industrial production of various specialties. From the seeds, cupulate® is produced. And also in the cosmetics industry, its fat is considered an important emollient [10].

*Pentaclethra macroloba* (Willd.) Kuntze is popularly known as pracaxi, paracaxi, or paroá-caxi, belonging to the Fabaceae family. The pracaxi is an oilseed plant from the Amazon region found in Guyana and some parts of Central America [17, 18]. The pracaxi fruit is in the form of a pod of 20–25 cm, curved and dark brown in color, when ripe and contains 4–8 seeds [19]. From the seed is extracted an oil, which is used in the treatment of ulcers and wounds, besides being healing and presenting insecticidal properties against the *Aedes aegypti* mosquito. In the cosmetics industry, it is used in the production of hair products [20, 21].

*Agro-industrial By-Products from Amazonian Fruits: Use for Obtaining Bioproducts DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91174*


#### **Table 1.**

*Some by-products of Amazonian fruits: application and predominant biocompounds.*

Tucumã (*Astrocaryum vulgare* Mart.) is an oleaginous fruit whose mesocarp is fibrous and nutritious, yellow-orange in color, rich in lipids and compounds such as pro-vitamin A [4]. The by-product of tucumã is also an excellent source of carotenoids [4]. The food industry uses its pulp to produce creams and ice creams. After obtaining the pulp, the tucumã seed is discarded (tons each year) [22]. The cosmetic industry uses tucumã pulp for oil extraction, which is used in skin moisturizing cosmetics, body lotions, and hair care products.

Since the waste of Amazonian fruit by-products, and consequently their antioxidant potential, due to the presence of bioactive compounds (e.g., polyphenols) (**Table 1**), it is possible to highlight some alternatives for better use of these byproducts. In this sense, its use as enriched ingredients in food formulations with nutritional and functional properties [10] stands out, for supplementation/complementation in cookies, bread, cereal bars, cakes, and pastes.

Given the high nutritional and economic (underutilized) value of by-products, many studies have been conducted with a common goal, their reuse [10, 13, 15, 23–28]. In this perspective, the valorization of agri-food by-products is presented not only as a necessity, but as an opportunity to obtain new products with added value and a great impact on the economy of industries. Thus, several authors have demonstrated that the vast diversity of fruits found in the Brazilian territory, especially the Amazon, presents nutritional richness and can be better utilized directly by the population and also by the food or cosmetic industries [10, 25, 28, 29]. To this end, further studies are needed to better understand the nutritional, functional, and economic potential of fruit by-products, especially those found in the Brazilian Amazon.

### **2. Nutritional composition**

Brazilian fruit by-products, particularly those from the Amazon region, need further investigation in order to obtain more information on their nutritional composition. Relevant data on the chemical composition of those traditionally inedible parts such as peel and seeds are even rarer. In addition, large amounts of by-products from these fruits are not consumed regularly; among them are seeds that are generally wasted in the environment [8]. Therefore, this chapter aimed to gather information on the nutritional potential of cocoa (CA), cupuassu (CP), pracaxi (PX), and tucumã (TM) seed by-products, with the objective


*VET means energetic value.***\****Results expressed as mean of triplicates ± standard deviation, expressed on a dry basis. a Values expressed in (kcal/100 g).*

#### **Table 2.**

*Nutritional composition of Amazonian fruit by-products: Cocoa (CA) [13], cupuassu (CP) [10], pracaxi (PX) [14], and tucumã (TM) [15].*

(depending on the results) of encouraging its consumption by the population, taking advantage of its use as ingredients in animal feed and even human food formulations.

The results of the nutritional composition of the CA, CP, PX, and TM by-products are presented in **Table 2**.

Amazonian fruit by-products: CA, CP, PX, and TM showed important, up-todate, and reliable nutritional values on the macronutrient composition of these by-products. As expected, because it is organic matter, carbohydrates were the most abundant macronutrients in the by-product studied. The CA, CP, PX, and TM also presented values of lipids, total fibers, and protein, and considerable energy value (**Table 2**). Thus, the contents of these macronutrients were higher than those reported for cupuassu pulp [5]. Protein content was 42% higher than fermented or roasted cupuassu seeds and 56% higher than cocoa seeds [7]. Compared to the studied by-products, pracaxi presented almost twice the protein content. And the by-product of the tucumã seed had the highest total fiber content, which may be related to its seed size (up to 22.9 mm in diameter) [30].

Compared to the cupuassu seeds, the cocoa seeds presented 17.74% higher protein content, 37.16% carbohydrate content, and 27.25% lipid content, while total fiber content was lower 33.41% (**Table 2**) [10, 13].

Given the above, the CA, CP, PX, and TM seed by-products presented significant nutritional values of macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and crude fibers) (**Table 2**), suggesting the possibility of their reuse by the food industry, as a possible food supplement, as it is a great alternative for food product enrichment, by increasing its nutritional value with a low-cost raw material and its importance as a source of human and animal food.

#### **3. By-product processing**

The industrial processing to obtain the industrial by-products (**Figure 1**) is similar; usually this process is performed from the fruit, where the first step is the separation of the pulp (**Figure 1A**), and the seeds are then subjected to a cooking process at 65°C for 45 min (**Figure 1B,C**) and then pressed (**Figure 1D**) to remove crude oil or butter (raw material for the cosmetic industry). Therefore, the resulting by-product (residual cake) is usually discarded by the industry, but it can be used as a raw material and proceeds to the standardization stage, being added in an oven with air circulation (40 ± 2°C) until obtaining of constant weight (**Figure 1E**). After dehydration, it was pulverized and from this extraction is performed (**Figure 1F**), obtaining the biocompounds (**Figure 1G**) [31–33].

*Agro-industrial By-Products from Amazonian Fruits: Use for Obtaining Bioproducts DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91174*

**Figure 1.**

*Residue processing and obtaining biocompounds (adapted from González et al. [31]).*

### **4. Extractive process**

#### **4.1 Green extraction**

Green extraction is based on efficient and conscientious use of plant raw materials to ensure an extraction process with better yield conditions. In this sense, this model aims to optimize the extractive process and reduce extraction time, number of operations, energy consumption, and amount of waste generated and processing costs [34].

Good manufacturing practices are in this context to improve the elective parameters during the extraction process, in order to optimize the steps during the plant cultivation process, ensuring the lowest water consumption and the reduction of pesticide and fertilizer use. In addition, it is possible to develop genetic improvement protocols to obtain extracts with the highest concentration of biocompounds of industrial interest. Techniques that allow efficient production and a reduction in the generation of environmental waste should be pointed out. The use of natural, less toxic, easy to degrade solvents or with a lower risk of environmental contamination is one of the most recent bets on the production of new products [34].

#### **4.2 Obtaining the extract**

Extracts are preparations obtained from medicinal plant derivatives (powder), which may be in liquid (fluid extract), semi-solid (soft extract), or solid (dry extract) form. They can be obtained by various methods, as shown in **Figure 2** (Adapted from Silva Junior et al. [35]).

Maceration is an extractive process in which the proportion of vegetable drug powder and solvent volume influences the efficiency of the method; generally, the ratio 1:5 or 1:10 (plant drug/extract) is used. The plant material will be in contact with the solvent at rest in a closed container; at certain time intervals, the mixture should be agitated, and the final process time is variable [35, 36].

Percolation is an extractive methodology in which it is obtained by exhaustion. Prior to this process, maceration of the plant drug should be performed. To perform the technique, in a percolator, the vegetable drug and the solvent must be added. The volume should be 1:10 (plant drug/extract). The percolator faucet should be opened, and the liquid flow rate varies according to the velocity and can be classified as slow (1.0 mL/min), moderate (1.0-3.0 mL/min), and fast (3.0-5.0 mL/min) [36].

#### **Figure 2.**

*Types of extracts and their methods of obtaining.*

To obtain the extracts of the by-products of CA [32], CP [33], PX [14], and TM [15], the percolation methodology was performed.

The standardization of plant material for extracts and their fractions requires applying techniques that characterize it to ensure correct use according to quality parameters, among which stand out the identification and quantification of the main classes of secondary metabolites and chemical markers, as well as investigation of pharmacological activities of industrial interest [35].
