INTRODUCTION
Exotic fats are defined as a group of fats obtained from wild,
uncultivated crops. Common exotic butters such as illipe (Shorea
stenoptera ), sal (Shorea robusta ), shea (Butyrospermum
parkii ), kokum (Garcinia indica ), and mango kernel
(Magnifera indica ) have been used to manufacture CBE on an
industrial scale. However, their supply on a large scale is limited
since they are extracted from the seeds or kernels of wild fruit trees
growing in tropical forests (Salas, Bootello, Martínez-Force, & Garcés,
2009). The main triacylglycerols in these fats are either
1,3-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (SOS) or a combination of
1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-3-stearoyl-glycerol (POS) and SOS, and these
natural butters lack one of the main structural triacylglycerols (TAGs)
of cocoa butter, 1,3-dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol (POP). The main
source of POP for the formulation of commercial CBEs is palm-mid
fraction (PMF) that is obtained by the multi-step dry fractionation of
palm oil. Currently, the main concern about using palm oil and its
derivatives in food is the lack of sustainability of these products as a
result of rainforest destruction (Austin, Mosnier, Pirker, McCallum,
Fritz, & Kasibhatla, 2017). Although sustainable palm oil production
has been started in some countries, these attempts are limited compared
to total world palm oil production (Carlson, Heilmayr, Gibbs, Noojipady,
Burns, Morton, Walker, Paoli, & Kremen, 2018).
Pequi is a yellow to orange, strong-flavored oleaginous fruit of pequi
tree (Caryocar brasiliense ), mainly native of the Amazon,
Caatinga, Cerrado, and the rainforest regions of Brazil. However, pequi
trees can also be found in Central and South America (Guedes, Antoniassi
& Faria-Machado, 2017; Vieira & Martins, 2000). Pequi fruit has a
green spherical shape containing four internal yellowish mesocarps rich
in oil (35-66% dry base) covering four pequi kernels containing pequi
kernel oil. Pequi kernel oil has non-edible applications in the
oleochemical industry (Faria-Machado, Tres, van Ruth, Antoniassi,
Junqueira, Lopes, & Bizzo, 2015). Previous studies showed the primary
fatty acids in pulp pequi oil were palmitic acid (36%), palmitoleic
acid (1%), stearic acid (2%), oleic acid (57%), linoleic acid (2%),
and linolenic acid (<0.5%). In comparison, the main TAGs in
pequi oil were 1-palmitoyl-2 3-dioleoyl-glycerol (POO) (39%) and POP
(34%) (Guedes, Antoniassi, Galdeano, Grimaldi, de Carvalho, Wilhelm &
Marangoni, 2017).
Kpangnan (Pentadesma butyracea ) butter is also known as Kanga,
Kanya, Painya, and Akpoto is obtained from the kernels of the berries
that grow on the Kpangnan tree is known as tallow tree, predominantly in
Ghana and some parts of West Africa such as Democratic Republic of Congo
(Ayegnon, Kayodé, Tchobo, Azokpota, Soumanou & Hounhouigan, 2015).
Kpangnan butter has non-edible applications in African societies, and it
is mainly used as a massage oil for skin and hair care and in the
manufacturing of soap (Dencausse, Ntsourankoua, Artaud & CLAMOU, 1995).
The fatty acid composition of Kpangnan butter is quite similar to shea
butter and mainly contains palmitic acid (3-4%), stearic acid
(43-47%), oleic acid (49-53%), and linoleic acid (<1%). The
main identified TAGs in Kpangnan butter are POS (1-2%), triolein (OOO)
(1.5-3%), 1-stearoyl-2, 3-dioleoyl-glycerol (SOO) (35-49%) and SOS
(37-61%). (Adomako, 1977; Tchobo, Natta, Barea, Barouh, Piombo, Pina,
et al. & Sohounhloue, 2007).
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical
properties of various mixtures of dry fractionated pequi oil as a source
of POP and solvent fractionated Kpangnan butter as a source of SOS to
produce more sustainable CBEs.