Hacia la reutilización de la palma Attalea cohune Mart., Arecaceae (corozo)

extracción y análisis preliminar del aceite esencial del corozo

Abstract

The corozo palm Attalea cohune Mart., Arecaceae, is endemic of Central America, South of Mexico, and Colombia, it is fire resilient and was cultivated by the ancestral Mayan communities. Currently, only the nut is commercially exploited for its oil, which is limited by the nut hardness that rapidly wears the machinery. This study targets at long term the potential exploitation of the male flower inflorescences. Its first phase is to further the extracts characterization. The essential oil was extracted by vapor distillation from the corozo male inflorescences in two different stages of development (A=before and B=after the panicle blossomed), the extraction yield and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The laboratory extracting conditions were optimized. The A product was below 0.001%, while the anhydrous B product was 0.02%. The chromatogram peaks were preliminary assigned, by comparison with standards, as monoterpenoids: eucalyptol, linalyl acetate, alfa-terpineol, and neryl acetate. This compounds have relevance in the cosmetic industry, extraction at industrial level as well as organoleptic analysis will be performed. Further research is ongoing.