Assessing the Physicochemical Properties, Thermal Stability, Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities of <i>Baillonella toxisperma</i> Seed Butters

Baillonella toxisperma (Moabi) seed is a multipurpose fruit mainly used in the craft way and remains underexplored as an added value product. This study investigates the physicochemical properties of its butter to consider going beyond small-scale farming. The raw material analyzed has been extracted by using a traditional process. The physical and chemical properties of moabi butter were evaluated using official standards and established methods. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transfer Infrared (FTIR-ATR), and Thermogravimetry (TGA) analyses were performed to characterize thermal behavior and main chemical groups. Additionally, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to identify and quantify fatty acid compounds. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were also evaluated. The results show that kernel seeds yielded 30.0% butter. The refractive index was 1.464 and butter remains solid at room temperature. The density and specific gravity values were 0.91 mg/mL and 0.92 g/cm3, respectively. The acid and peroxide values were 38.76 mg KOH/g and 6.30 meq O2/kg. The iodine value was 16.26 (mg I2/100 g butter) while saponification index and unsaponifiable matters were 200.5 (mg KOH/g) and 1.52%, respectively. GC/MS revealed the major fatty acids as oleic acid (53.6%), stearic acid (32.5%), and palmitic acid (10.8%), with minor fatty acids as linoleic (2.5%) and arachidic (0.6%) acids. FTIR results showed several bands indicating the presence of fatty compounds. TGA indicated that this butter is stable until 200˚C and fully degraded at 550˚C. DSC displayed the glass transition of moabi butter between −10˚C and −7˚C, with a melting point at 55˚C. This butter exhibited an anti-inflammatory activity at 79.95 mg/mL and an antioxidant activity at 4.94 mg/mL. The study demonstrated that moabi seed butter is an important product with interesting physicochemical properties. This butter demonstrated its potential for both human consumption and industrial applications.