Brazil displays an richness fruits varieties, many of which occur in the warmer north and northeastern regions of the country. The exotic --flavored cupuassu is of particular interest for its importance on the markets in southeastern Brazil and Europe. The pul and the pits constitute industrial raw material of significant potential. As object of studies in the area of nectar production, the pulp of the cupuassu is more commonly used for manufacturing ice cream, jam, mash and canned pulp. However, the pulp and the pit adheres very tighty to each other, their separation is done manually with the aid of domestic utensils such as spoons , scissors and knives, yielding rather small amounts of pulp for further processing. In order to increase the yield during the extraction process, two commercial pectinolitic enzymes (Citrozym L and Rohament PL) in concentrations of 100, 300, 500 and 750 ppm were added to the total pulp. The final yield was compared to that obtained with the control pulp (without enzymes). The experiment was carried out at the food technology laboratories at the Embrapa Tropical Agro-Industry. With the addition of the Citrozim L, tthe yield was over 60% at concentrations of 300, 500 and 750 ppm, while with the addition of Rohament PL the yield attained values between 43 and 57% at these same concentrations. The yield of the control sample was 44% for Citrozym L and 41% for Rohament PL. In conclusion, the use of enzymes with the purpose of increasing the yield of cupuaçu pulp during extraction is a viable alternative, and at 300 ppm or more the yield obtained is approximately 60%.
Cupuaçu; enzymes; extraction
