The macaúba palm ( Acrocomia aculeata ), widely distributed throughout Brazil, has a pulp rich in oil and bioactive compounds, demonstrating its potential for food and industrial applications. The lipid fraction can be extracted by different methods, with hexane being the most used solvent. Considering the environmental and safety concerns associated with hexane, this study evaluated green solvents (ethanol, 95% ethanol, 90% ethanol, and isopropanol) for the solid–liquid extraction of oil from macaúba pulp, assessing the effects of temperature (35, 45, and 55 °C) and solvent-to-solid ratio (5:1 and 10:1). The response variables analyzed were oil yield, retention index, total phenolic content, α-tocopherol content, antioxidant activity, and fatty acid composition. Hexane showed the highest oil yields and the lowest retention index. However, polar solvents, particularly hydrated ethanolic systems, increased the recovery of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. Absolute ethanol and isopropanol achieved competitive yields under more intensified conditions (55 °C and a solvent-to-solid ratio of 10:1). The fatty acid composition remained practically stable under all extraction conditions, with oleic acid predominating. Principal component analysis confirmed that non-polar solvents favor oil yield, while polar solvents promote the recovery of bioactive compounds. These results demonstrate that green solvents represent a promising alternative to hexane when both extraction efficiency and functional quality are considered.
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Martins et al. (2026) studied this question.
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