Mini-reviewOleochemistry potential from Brazil northeastern exotic plants
Graphical abstract
Introduction
The number of plants for food consumption is estimated to hundred species, among which rice, wheat and maize account for 60% of the total caloric intake [1]. One alternative to recover old eating habits for health promotion is using different plant species as food [2]. This stimulates an interest in accessing plant foods in biodiversity centers, in order to find different and attractive tastes, as well as high levels of bioactive substances capable of preventing many diseases [3]. Brazil can contribute enormously in this field because the country has the most diverse flora of the world, with 33,200 different species approximately, what corresponds to 26.5% of the total known plant species [4].
In Brazil there are different types of land and climates that results in a large diversity of species distributed around six main biomes, namely the Amazon Forest, Caatinga, Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, Pantanal and Pampa, as shown in Fig. 1 [[5], [6], [7]]. Caatinga is a semi-arid ecosystem with an area of 969.589.4 km2, being an exclusively Brazilian biome that covers their northeast, composed by the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe and small portion southeastern area in the state of Minas Gerais north. The name has a Tupi-Guarani origin and means white forest. This name appropriately characterizes the physical aspect of the vegetation during the dry season, when the leaves fall and only the bright white trunks of trees and shrubs remain on the dry landscape. It corresponds to 10% of the Brazilian territory and 60% of the northeastern region [8]. Its vegetation covers a continuous area of semi-arid climate, limited by areas of typically humid climate. This area, dry and hot, is defined as the drought polygon. The species present in the Caatinga have as characteristics marked adaptations to water scarcity, i. e deciduous, annual herbaceous, succulent, the presence of acuulus and leaves transformed into thorns are constant, shrub and small trees are predominant and the canopy cover is irregular. Its worth mentioning that there is presence of endemic species and non-endemic species. Non-endemic species occur in other areas of similar climate but are not found in humid regions that limit the biome [9].
Caatinga have an annual average rainfall that ranges from 240 to 1500 mm, restricted from January to March, with 2.000 mm of evaporation rate and high annual temperatures (around 27 °C). Due to the low rainfall, the environment shows a shallow and stony soil with the presence of temporary rivers and streams. This periodic severe drought makes life difficult for the human inhabitants and provide adaptive challenges for the region’s biota due to this unique environmental condition [8].
In this way, more than 510 genera and 5344 species of vascular plants have been identified in the Caatinga, among which 18 genera and 318 species are endemic [10]. Therefore, the climate and soil of the northeast region are determining factors of their typical vegetation [11]. Several plant species of the Caatinga are potentially useful as oil seed sources. Thus, the objective of this mini-review is to summarize the properties of oils and fatty acids that can be extracted from some representative species shown in Fig. 2, of the Brazilian caatinga and present potential applications in Oleochemistry.
Among the six species selected for this review, Favela (Cnidoscolus quercifolius Pohl), Licuri (Syagrus coronata (Mart.) Becc.), Pinhão-Bravo (Jatropha mollissima Pohl Baill) and Oiticica (Licania rigida Benth) are endemic and naturally occur in Caatinga while Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a Brazillian native plant that occurs naturally on the coast and in the semi-arid region, and Pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Camb), naturally occurring in the Cerrado, was adapted to the northeast region and in the transition regions of the Amazon rainforest and Caatinga.
Section snippets
Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale L)
Commonly known as “Caju”, belongs to the Anacardiaceae family, native from the Brazilian north and northeast regions. Cashew tree is adapted to various regions of different climates and water availability, being popular in houses backyards. It’s a perennial plant, with botanical characteristics as an aerial stem with low branching; the leaves are simple, petiolate and without stipulation; the leaf is leathery, the leaves are alternate and obtuse; the inflorescence is panicle, the flowers are
Favela (Cnidoscolus quercifolius pohl or Cnidoscolus phyllacanthus)
Belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family, Favela it is well recognized for its high drought tolerance. Its xerophilic character allows the plant to grow and reproduce, even in prolonged periods of drought, helping to maintain the balance of the ecosystem by mitigating environmental degradation [19]. Favela tree is an arboreal plant (reaches 4 m in height) with abundant spines, with characteristic tuberous roots, also called xylopodia, specialized in storing organic matter produced in the rainy
Licuri (Syagrus coronata (Mart.) Becc.)
This highly drought-resistant palm tree from Arecaceae family, is an endemic species in semi-arid regions of the Caatinga, covering the eastern and central areas from Minas Gerais North to Pernambuco South. Licuri palm tree has a medium height measuring between 8 and 11 m. Being also called big-headed coconut, it has a stipe stem covered by old leaf sheaths. The plant is monoecious, the male flowers are long, contains six stamens and a leathery aspect. The female flowers are smaller and have a
Pinhão-Bravo (Jatropha mollissima Pohl Baill)
Belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, which comprises approximately 321 genera and 8000 species. The name of the Jatropha genus has its origin in Latin, in which iatrós means “doctor” and trophé “food”, suggesting its medicinal properties [31]. According to Sabandar et al. (2013) [32], several species of Jatropha have been described especially in folk medicinal uses to cure stomachache, inflammation, leprosy, dysentery, anemia, diabetis, to treat opthalmia, ringworm, ulcers, malaria, skin
Pequi (Caryocar brasiliense)
This kind of tree is from Caryocaraeae family, and in the Brazilian northeast it can occur in the Caatinga biome transition regions with Amazon, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes, being found in the states of Minas Gerais, Maranhão and Piauí [20,35]. Pequi is an indigenous word which means “covered with thorns”, due to the prickly endocarp of its fruit [36].
Pequi tree is an arboreal plant (8–12 m), that has gray bark, thick and crooked branches. The leaves are composed, opposite and with
Oiticica (Licania rígida Benth)
From Crysobalanaceae family, this plant is present in the riparian forests of the Caatinga found near intermittent rivers of Brazil northeastern from the watersheds of Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba. In this way, the Oiticica have great value in the preservation of riverbanks and temporary streams. The tree can reach up to 20 m in height, the thick trunks have a branch close to the ground, the yellow flowers branch in the bunches and the fruit has an ovoid shape measuring between
Oil content, fatty acid composition, additional bioactive compounds and oleochemistry potential
The productiveness and applicability of oil from plants depends on several factors, such as seed oil content its proprieties and fatty acid composition. Examining the seed oil contents and proprieties, as shown in Table 1, it is possible to have a first glimpse on the performance of the plants analyzed as oleaginous sources.
In this sense, Pequi demonstrates the highest potential as edible oil source, being followed by Oiticica. However, more research regarding Oiticia oil application for human
Conclusion
Brazilian Northeast Caatinga Forest has a rich vegetal diversity, among which species like Cashew nut, Favela, Licuri, Pinhão-Bravo, Pequi and Oiticia stand out as potential oilseeds crops, due to their high oil contends, fatty acid composition and proprieties. However, only a small fraction of this biodiversity is known and used, probably due to climatic conditions and also because this region historically concentrated most of the rural poverty in Latin America. A sustainable management of
Author contribution
M. C. Lisboa: collection of data, analysis of data, writing of manuscript; F. M. S. Wiltshire: collection of data, writing of manuscript; A.T. Fricks: analysis of data; C. Dariva: writing of manuscript; F. Carrière: analysis of data, writing of manuscript; Á. S. Lima: conception of the work, analysis of data; C. M. F. Soares: conception of the work, analysis of data, writing of manuscript. All authors have approved the final version of this article.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the financial support by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES), specially for the scholarships provided for Milena Chagas Lisboa (PROSUP - 88882.365551/2019–01, PDSE 41/2018–88881.361582/2019–01) and Flavia Michelle Silva Wiltshire (PROSUP 88882.365583/2019–01).
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