CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RAMON TREE SEED (Brosimum alicastrum Swartz.) AS A POTENTIAL FOOD SOURCE

Resumen

The main objective of this work was to study the physical, chemical, and functional properties of the seed of the Ramon tree (Brosimum alicastrum Swartz) to evaluate its potential application in the elaboration of food products of high nutritional value. The results were compared with other seeds marketed internationally through an a posteriori comparative study of means. Ramon seed yielded 43.99 % of the dietary fiber, with energy value of 183.02 kcal per 100 g seed, cation exchange of 0.0015 meq [H⁺] g^-1 seed, and uptake of organic molecules of 0.91 g oil g^-1 seed. Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity had a value of 0.88 mg Trolox g^-1 of seed. The antioxidant activity of the seed (IC₅₀) was 1.602 mg mL^-1, while the tree leaf had an IC₅₀ of 0.618 mg mL^-1. The content of total phenols and flavonoids was also determined, resulting in 154 mg of gallic acid per 100 g of seed and 72.14 mg of catechin per 100 g of seed, respectively. To evaluate its capacity to produce high-nutritional-value foods, the biscuit test was carried out with Ramon seed whole meal flour, obtaining an expansion factor of 62.8. All the aforementioned tests were performed in triplicate, and the Student’s t-test was used for the comparison of means between treatments. The hypothesis of the present work was demonstrated since the seed of the Ramon tree represents an alternative as a functional food, since physical, chemical, and functional properties comparable to other seeds of recognized nutritional value were observed.