Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Amazonian Oils and Fats: Promising Species, Equipment, Yields, Composition, and Potential Uses

Amazonian oils and fats (AOFs) have promising composition and bioactive properties, and their processing with supercritical fluids presents several opportunities and challenges for the industry. Our review is dedicated to unraveling the advances in the application of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) to produce these exceptional oils and fats from Amazonian raw materials, such as fruits, pulps, seeds, and industrial by-products. Our review found that Amazonian plant species produce lipid-rich raw materials and also grow naturally in other regions with similar climates. AOFs present high nutritional value and functional properties due to their content of bioactive compounds. The properties of AOFs are attributed to their major and minor components; lipid molecules represent the major fraction and some fat-soluble compounds, such as tocopherols, phytosterols, terpenes and others, constitute the minor fraction. The production of AOFs by SFE requires properly prepared raw materials and process optimization. Several scientific articles report on the production of AOFs by SFE, but application studies in product development are still scarce. The composition and technological properties of AOFs show a wide spectrum of opportunities for the development of nutritional and functional products. Aspects such as the scaling up of the SFE process, agroforestry or agronomic production, and product development require further studies to promote the AOFs industry in a way that contributes to sustainable development, food security, and the quality of life and health of the Amazonian populations.