Functional and technical fat systems from Tucumã pulp oil and kernel fat through dry fractionation and blending

Tucumã, a native Amazon palm fruit, is rich in lipids and represents a promising resource for developing functional fat systems. This study investigated the potential of tucumã pulp oil and kernel fat for technical fat applications. For this, tucumã pulp oil was subjected to dry fractionation (solvent-free crystallization) and the olein fraction was blended with tucumã kernel fat. The fractionation of pulp oil was carried out by gradually decreasing the temperature from 35 °C to 15 °C, leading to the formation of two fractions, olein and stearin with distinct physicochemical characteristics, including differences in fatty acid and triacylglycerol composition, melting and crystallization behavior, and polymorphic profiles. The stearin fraction was enriched in palmitic acid, exhibited higher oxidative stability, and showed predominance of the β-polymorph with a melting point of ~37 °C, indicating its potential as a structuring fat for high-solid applications. Despite these modifications, tucumã stearin retained a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids (~63%) and substantial carotenoid levels (~1500 μg/g), suggesting its ability to stabilize highly unsaturated vegetable oils. Furthermore, the olein preserved the fatty acid composition of the original pulp oil and exhibited Newtonian flow behavior, in contrast to the pseudoplastic properties of the stearin. Binary blends of pulp olein with kernel fat enhanced carotenoid content and exhibited rheological and textural properties comparable to commercial palm oil, while also presenting a lower saturated fat content and higher n-3 fatty acid levels. Overall, the modification of tucumã pulp oil by dry fractionation, combined with blending strategies using kernel fat, represents a cost-effective approach of producing functional fats with desirable nutritional and technological properties, supporting their potential application in the development of value-added food products.