Vitamin E profiles in Acrocomia aculeata from three regions in Costa Rica

Abstract

Acrocomia aculeata is a promising crop for agroforestry systems in subtropical regions and investigated as an alternative to oil palm. Since significant regional differences in morphology and chemical composition have been reported for Acrocomia fruits, we aimed to determine the vitamin E profiles of Costa Rican Acrocomia aculeata from three different regions. Lipid extracts were obtained from mesocarp and endosperm of fully ripe fruits and vitamin E congeners quantified by HPLC. The endosperm vitamin E profile was dominated by tocotrienols, with α-tocotrienol as predominant congener. No tocopherols were found in the endosperm. However, the vitamin E profile of the mesocarp showed quantifiable amounts of several tocopherols with α-tocopherol as the major tocopherol form. γ-Tocotrienol represented the most abundant tocotrienol in the mesocarp. The highest vitamin E content was observed in the region with the most tropical climatic conditions. Although α-tocopherol was previously reported as the only quantifiable vitamin E congener in Costa Rican Acrocomia aculeata fruits, a more complex profile was identified in the present study. This preliminary data suggests that higher diversity and total amount of vitamin E observed in the region with the highest rainfall and temperatures are a possible adaptation of the crop to regions outside subtropical zones.