How Does the Extraction of Remaining Lipids From Babassu Press Cake Using Green and Traditional Solvents Affect the Oil and Defatted Solids?

Babassu (Orbignya phalerata) plays a crucial role in several indigenous and quilombo communities in the north and northeast regions of Brazil. Mechanical pressing of nuts yields babassu oil of interest to the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. However, the solid fraction from pressing (babassu press cake, BPC) has rarely been explored, thereby devaluing its potential for application in the food industry. Therefore, this study comprehensively characterized BPC, extracted residual lipids with hexane and ethanol, and characterized the extracted babassu oils (BO.H and BO.E) and the corresponding defatted solids (DS.H and DS.E). Ethanol resulted in a high oil extraction yield (85.8 ± 0.5%) and a low liquid holdup (0.57 ± 0.03 kg adhered solution/kg of fiber) at 75°C, in addition to a reduction in the DS.E's aflatoxin values compared with those of BPC. BO.E's composition in fatty acids and triacylglycerols and physical properties such as density and viscosity were similar to those of BO.H. BPC, DS.H, and DS.E had low nitrogen solubility indices (NSIs of 14.3 ± 0.8%, 11.27 ± 0.09%, and 9.9 ± 0.3%, respectively), even at alkaline pH values, indicating that protein recovery from BPC is challenging. Water (WAC) and oil (OAC) absorption capacities are similar for BPC, DS.H, and DS.E, indicating that the lipid extraction process has an insignificant effect on these properties. The results reveal the potential of incorporating residual oil and defatted solids from BPC in various applications, contributing to the valorization of the entire babassu production chain.