Effects of freeze-dried bocaiuva (Acrocomia aculeata) nuts on mice fed a high-fat diet

Efeitos de castanhas liofilizadas de bocaiuva (Acrocomia aculeata) em camundongos alimentados com uma dieta hiperlipídica

Abstract

Nuts of bocaiuva (Acrocomia aculeata) are a good source of fiber and fatty acids, making it an attractive resource for preventing obesity and metabolic alterations. In such context, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts in mice fed a high-fat diet. For this, the animals received a high-fat diet plus freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts (1%, 2% and 4%) for 12 weeks. Animal body weight, food intake and glycemic profile were evaluated during the experimental period. We collected blood for biochemical tests and samples for histological analysis of the liver, pancreas and adipose tissue, and liver lipid content. The results showed its consumption, regardless of concentrations of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts, did not influence weight gain and adiposity. We detected a minor effect on glucose lowering, but the HF A1% concentration reduced serum triglycerides. HF A1%, A2% and A4% increased HDL-c values when compared to SHAM and CHF.

Keywords:
adipose tissue; blood glucose; functional food; dyslipidemia; brazilian nut

Resumo

As nozes de bocaiúva (Acrocomia aculeata) são uma boa fonte de fibras e ácidos graxos, tornando-se um recurso atraente para a prevenção da obesidade e alterações metabólicas. Nesse contexto, este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito das nozes de bocaiúva liofilizadas em camundongos alimentados com dieta hiperlipídica. Para isso, os animais receberam uma dieta hiperlipídica mais nozes de bocaiúva liofilizadas (1%, 2% e 4%) por 12 semanas. O peso corporal, a ingestão alimentar e o perfil glicêmico dos animais foram avaliados durante o período experimental. Coletamos sangue para exames bioquímicos e amostras para análise histológica do fígado, pâncreas e tecido adiposo, e conteúdo lipídico hepático. Os resultados mostraram que seu consumo, independentemente das concentrações de nozes de bocaiúva liofilizadas, não influenciou o ganho de peso e a adiposidade. Para a dieta contendo 1% de castanha, detectou-se um efeito na redução da glicose e triglicérides séricos. HF A1%, A2% e A4% aumentaram os valores de HDL-c quando comparados ao grupo SHAM e CHF.

Palavras-chave:
tecido adiposo; glicose sanguínea; alimentos funcionais; dislipidemia; castanha brasileira

1. Introduction

The etiology of obesity is considered complex and multifactorial, resulting from the interaction of genetic, environmental, lifestyle and emotional factors (Sarapio et al., 2019; Rubio-Ruiz et al., 2013). In addition to the function of body energy reserve, adipose tissue has endocrine functions through the secretion of various peptide and non-peptide substances called adipokines (Francisco et al., 2019; Umano et al., 2019; Taylor, 2021). The accumulation of adipose tissue favors increased expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP-1/CCL-2) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by monocytes and macrophages (Landecho et al., 2019), manifesting an inflammatory effect, besides being directly related to the development of insulin resistance (IR) (Ouchi et al., 2011).

Brazil is known for its megabiodiversity in botany, especially in the Cerrado, which is the second-largest ecological area in South America (Mendonça et al., 2020). In this context, public health agencies and the population are more concerned about healthy eating habits, as many studies have shown the influence of certain types of food in reducing pathogenic processes and, consequently, lowering the occurrence of obesity (Koç et al., 2020). Thus, the consumption of food containing bioactive compounds that may act preventing and controlling chronic diseases is of great interest. Based on this, the nut of bocaiuva (Acrocomia aculeata) becomes an attractive resource because of its nutritional composition identified so far.

Bocaiuva fruits have two edible parts: the pulp and the nut (Fernandes et al., 2021). The pulp is rich in nutrients, including minerals, carotenoids, and fiber. In terms of composition, it has around 53% moisture, 8% lipids, 1.5% protein, 22% carbohydrates, 1.5% ash, and 14% fiber (Ramos et al., 2008). Bocaiuva kernel oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, particularly oleic acid (Munhoz et al., 2018; Nunes et al., 2020; Silva et al., 2023), lauric and palmitic fatty acids (Silva et al., 2023). Bocaiuva fruits are rich in calcium (61.96 mg/100g), and potassium (36.70 mg/100g), and their pulp and flour are valued in the consumer market in Brazilian states and other South American countries (Bortolotto et al., 2021) (Supplementary Fig. 1). Fruits have a globose shape and are composed of a hard epicarp, a fibrous and mucilaginous mesocarp, and a woody endocarp, firmly adhered to the mesocarp (Silva et al., 2021).

Studies demonstrated that bocaiuva pulp oil has antiplatelet action since it reduces platelet activation, as seen by the decrease in P-selectin expression and ROS production (Hiane et al., 2005). Considering obesity as a chronic, progressive, and multifactorial disease, the use of foods with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, such as the pulp and nuts of the bocaiuva (Acrocomia aculeata), may indeed make a complementary contribution to the treatment and management of this condition, in addition to continuing our research approaches on the fruit, which is the focus of our research group. Consuming a high-fat diet leads to the expansion of adipose tissue, where triacylglycerol (TAG) is stored (Peppi et al., 2025).

Furthermore, no studies are using freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts in animal models with metabolic dysfunctions associated with obesity. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the effect of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts consumption on mice fed a high-fat diet.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Collection, obtention of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts and nut oil

Bocaiuva (Acrocomia aculeata) ripe fruits were obtained in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, from October to December 2015. The exsiccates were deposited in the CGMS Herbarium of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, under number 54,032. The plant was registered in the Brazilian National System of Management of Genetic Heritage and Associated Traditional Knowledge (SisGen) under the number A26D547. Lyophilization was carried out in an industrial freeze dryer (LH0601-B, Terrroni™) (Lenquiste et al., 2015).

2.2. Physicochemical characterization of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts

Analyzes were performed on lyophilized nuts in triplicate samples. Ash was determined in a muffle furnace at 550 °C and humidity were determined in an oven at 105 °C (AOAC International, 1997, 2000).

The protein content was assessed by the micro-Kjeldahl method and lipids were quantified by the Soxhlet method (AOAC International, 1990).

The fiber content (soluble and insoluble) was determined through the enzymatic method that used α-amylase (Ter-mamyl™) and protease (Alcalase™). Carbohydrates were determined according to Lane-Eynon, using the Fehling Reagent. The total energy value was estimated considering the Atwater conversion factors: protein (4.0 kcal/g), carbohydrate (4.0 kcal/g) and lipids (9.0 kcal/g) (Merrill and Watt, 1973).

2.3. Fatty acids profile from freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts

We subjected the extracted crude oil to esterification according to the methodology described by Maia and Rodriguez-Amaya (1993). The fatty acid methyl esters were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC-MS 2010, Shimadzu™, Japan). The results were expressed in percentage (%) per area.

2.4. Animals

The Ethics Committee for Animal Use (Protocol no. 774/2016) approved the experimental protocol. We kept the animals under standard laboratory conditions (12:12 light/dark cycle, lights on at 07:00 h, 22 °C, 60% humidity, food and water ad libitum (Reeves et al., 1993).

2.5. Experimental design

Five types of diets were elaborated for the different experimental groups: Normocaloric maintenance, according to the American Institute of Nutrition (AIN-93 M), High-fat diet (HF) (Pimentel et al., 2013) and HF plus different percentages of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts (HF A1, HF A2 and HF A4%). For this, a calculation was carried out from the composition of the nut so that the HF diets and those added per nut had the same proportion of macronutrients. For high-fat diets, 1.25g/kg of cholesterol was add (Choi and Kim, 2010; Kamada et al., 2013; Orellana et al., 2014) (Table 1).

Table 1
Composition of experimental diets (g per kg of feed).

Ingredients (g/kg)	Diets
	AIN-93M	CHF	HF A1%	HF A2%	HF A4%
Maize starch	465.690	116.00	115.31	114.63	113.25
Casein	140.00	200.00	198.28	196.56	193.12
Dextrinized starch	155.00	132.00	132.00	132.00	132.00
Sucrose	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00
Soy oil	40.00	40.00	34.80	29.61	19.21
Microcrystalline cellulose	50.00	50.00	47.51	45.02	40.04
AIN 93 M mineral mix	35.00	35.00	35.00	35.00	35.00
AIN 93 M Vitamin Mix	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00
L-cystine	1.80	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00
Choline Bitartrate	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50	2.50
Tertbutyl hydroquinone	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01
Lard	-	312.00	312.00	312,00	312,00
Cholesterol	-	1.25	1.25	1,25	1,25
Freeze-dried bocaiuva nut	-	-	10.00	20,00	40,00
Total (g)	1,000.00	1,001.83	1,001.77	1,001.65	1,001.45
Energy (cal/kg)	380.28	536.00	536.00	536.00	536.00
Carbohydrates (g/100g)	72.07	34.80	34.80	34.80	34.80
Proteins (g/100g)	14.00	20.00	20.00	20.00	20.00
Lipids (g/100g)	4.00	35.20	35.20	35.20	35.20
Calories/g diet	3.80	5.36	5.36	5.36	5.36

Swiss mice (males and adults, at 12 weeks old) were subjected to 5 days of adaptation to the new environment, and the animals were divided into 5 groups: SHAM group (n=15), fed AIN-93M diet; CHF group (n=15), fed a high-fat diet; HF A1% group (n=15), fed a high-fat diet plus 1% freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts; HF A2% group (n=15), fed a high-fat diet plus 2% freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts; HF A4% group (n=15), fed a high-fat diet plus 4% freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts and water ad libitum (Fernandes et al., 2021) (Figure 1).

Figure 1
Experimental model design using a high-fat diet.

2.6. Analysis of food intake, food efficacy and weight gain

The feed intake was measured weekly, along with the animal weights, before the administering of the respective treatments (Orellana et al., 2014). By multiplying the amount of diet ingested by the energy density value of each diet, it was possible to estimate the energy intake expressed in kcal/day. The Feed Efficacy Coefficient (FEC) was calculated to determine how much each gram of feed ingested is capable of increasing body weight, from the following Equation 1:

$$FEC=\left(FBW–IW\right)/TA$$ (1)

FBW refers to the final body weight, IW to the initial weight and TA the total amount of food ingested, all in grams (Santana and Santo, 2018; Nery et al., 2011).

The calculation of the coefficient of weight gain by caloric consumption (CWGCC) helps in the analysis of the animal's ability to convert food energy consumed into body weight according to the following Equation 2:

$$CWGCC=\left(FW–IW\right)/kcalintake$$ (2)

As in the food efficacy calculation, in the CWGCC, FW and IW represent the final and initial weights in grams, respectively, and kcal intake refers to the caloric value of the consumed diet (Santana and Santo, 2018; Tognolli et al., 2023).

2.7. Body fat assessment

Five sites of adipose tissue were sampled (epididymal, retroperitoneal, perirenal, mesenteric and omental); these were weighed, with subsequent determination of the animal fat content (percentage of adipose tissue in each site about body weight) (Taylor and Phillips, 1996).

2.8. Determination of total lipids, total cholesterol, and hepatic triglycerides

To extract total hepatic lipids, organic solvents were used according to the method of Folch et al. (1957). Moreover, to determine total cholesterol and hepatic triglycerides, the lipids extracted from the liver to determine total cholesterol and triglyceride levels using the Labtest™ enzymatic kit (Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, Brazil).

2.9. Metabolic changes in serum

Triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and fractions, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c) and blood glucose were measured according to the guidelines of the commercial kit LabTest Diagnóstica™, Brazil.

Fasting glucose was verified via flow rate (time 0) using a G-Tech® glucometer (G-TECH Free, Infopia Co., Ltd South Korea). Then, the animals received a D-glucose solution (Sigma-Aldrich™, Brazil) by gavage. A blood glucose reading was performed 15, 30, 60 and 120 minutes after glucose application. The blood glucose concentrations were recorded, and from the peak blood glucose values, the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated for each mouse, and the mean was calculated for each experimental group (Tai, 1994).

2.10. Concentration of adipokines: TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, insulin, resistin and leptin

The concentrations of adipokines TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, insulin, resistin and leptin were measured using the commercial kit MADKMAG-71K™ from Merck-Sigma Aldrich™, reading the plate on the Luminex™ using the MAGPIX™ software.

2.11. Statistical analysis

The results were expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean. ANOVA was utilized for multiple comparisons of parametric results, followed by the post-Tukey test, and for non-parametric results, Kruskal-Wallis followed by a post-Dunns/Fisher LSD test. Jandel SigmaStat software, version 3.5 (Systal software, Inc., USA) and SigmaPlot, version 12.5 (Systat Software Inc., USA) were utilized to perform the statistical analysis.

3. Results

3.1. Physicochemical characterization of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts

Among the nut components, the lipid content found in this work was the most expressive since it corresponds to just over 50% of it. The fiber content of the freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts analyzed was 19.34%, with 91.5% represented by insoluble fiber and 8.5% by soluble fiber (Table 2).

Table 2
Physicochemical composition of freeze-dried bocaiuva nut.

Components	Freeze-dried bocaiuva nut (g/100g)
Moisture	2.63±0.03
Ashes	1.91±0.01
Lipids	52.15±0.90
Carbohydrates	6.87±0.28
Protein	17.10±0.92
Total fibers	19.34±0.19
Insoluble fibers	17.70±1.19
Soluble fibers	1.64±0.99
Total calories (kcal/100g)	565.23

• Values represent the mean ± standard deviation of the mean.

3.2. Fatty acid profile of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts

The freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts contained two prominent fatty acids, lauric fatty acid (31.63%), saturated, at the highest proportion, and oleic acid (29.83%), unsaturated (Table 3).

Table 3
Fatty acid profile (% in area) of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts.

Fatty acids	Freeze-dried bocaiuva nut
Butyric, C4:0	0.91
Caproic, C6:0	0.01
Caprylic, C8:0	0.73
Capric C10:0	2.07
Lauric, C12:0	31.63
Myristic, C14:0	7.99
Palmitic, C16:0	7.07
Stearic, C18:0	2.98
∑Saturated (SFA)	53.42
Palmitoleic, C16:1	0.04
Oleic, C18:1(n-9)	29.83
Eicosenoic, C20:1	0.19
∑Monounsaturated (AGMI)	29.87
Linoleic, C18:2 (n-6)	3.22
Linolenic, C18:3 (n-3)	0.02
Eicosatrienoic C20:3 (n-6)	3.38
∑ Polyunsaturated (PUFA)	6.83
∑ NIFA	9.86

• Results expressed in percentage (%) per area. Saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), non-identified fatty acids (NIFA).

3.3. Effects of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts on body weight, food intake and body fat percentage

At the beginning of the experiment, all animals presented similar weights; at the end of twelve weeks, we observed that all groups fed with a hyperlipidic diet had a significant difference from the SHAM group, showing that the food intake of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts did not influence (Table 4). Regarding food intake, the groups fed a hyperlipidic diet presented significantly lower values than SHAM (p<0.05), but the HF A1% group had the lowest consumption. Also, the freeze-dried bocaiuva nut showed no effect on the FEC and CWGCC (Table 4). In the evaluation of adipose tissue sites, there was no significant difference between groups in terms of weight, as shown in Table 5.

Table 4
Initial and final weight, weight gain, food intake of control animals and those that consumed bocaiuva nuts.

Parameters	Experimental groups
	Sham	CHF	HF A1%	HF A2%	HF A4%
Initial weight (g)1	36.33±1.31	34.53±0.85	35.13±0.48	35.06±0.72	35.13±0.86
Final weight (g)2	48.92±0.84b	54.85±0.56a	54.46±1.09a	58.73±1.31a	55.66±1.09a
Weight gain (g)1	14.20±0.94b	19.73±0.68a	19.33±1.21a	21.66±0.80a	20.53±1.07a
Food intake (g/day)2	4.80±0.055a	3.40±0.049bc	3.36±0.05b	3.76±0.07d	3.77±0.08cd
Food intake (Kcal/day)2	18.26±0.20b	18.24±0.26b	18.03±0.27b	20.16±0.42a	20.21±0.44a
FEC*2	0.03±0.01b	0.06±0.00a	0.06±0.00a	0.07±0.00a	0.06±0.00a
CWGCC**2	0.01±0.00b	0.01±0.00a	0.01±0.00a	0.01±0.00a	0.01±0.00ab

• Values represent the mean ± standard error of the mean. In the same line, different letters indicate significant difference between experimental groups. n=15. (1Kruskal-Wallis/Dunns, 2ANOVA/Tukey). p<0.05.
• ^*
  FEC: Feed Efficacy Coefficient;
• ^**
  CWGCC: Coefficient of Weight Gain per Caloric Consumption.

Table 5
Adipose tissue sites and adiposity of control animals and those that consumed bocaiuva nuts.

Adipose tissue sites	Experimental groups
	SHAM	CHF	HF A1%	HF A2%	HF A4%
Omental weight (g)1	0.03±0.00	0.05±0.01	0.05±0.00	0.06±0.01	0.07±0.01
Epididymal weight (g)2	1.68±0.12	1.92±0.15	1.83±0.16	1.94±0.12	2.13±0.14
Mesenteric weight (g)1	1.11±0.11b	1.75±0.09a	1.42±0.14ab	1.73±0.11a	1.66±0.12a
Retroperitoneal weight (g)1	0.64±0.05b	0.82±0.09ab	0.70±0.09ab	1.05±0.14a	0.89±0.08a
Perirenal weight (g)1	0.38±0.03	0.42±0.03	0.38±0.03	0.43±0.05	0.36±0.03
Adipose index (%)2	4.61±0.33	5.17±0.38	4.85±0.39	5.30±0.32	5.38±0.21

• Values represent the mean ± standard error of the mean. In the same line, different letters indicate significant difference between experimental groups. n=15. (1Kruskal-Wallis/Dunns, 2 ANOVA/Tukey). p<0.05.

3.4. Effect of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts on lipid profile and blood glucose

Regarding serum glucose concentration of the animals at the end of the experiment, the SHAM group and the HF A1%, HF A2% and HF A4% had lower levels than the CHF group (Figure 2A). Concerning blood TG levels, the CHF and HF A1% groups showed the lowest values​​ compared with the SHAM group (Figure 2B).

Figure 2
Evaluation of serum parameters (A) Blood glucose (mg/dL)1; (B) Triglycerides (mg/dL) 2 ; (C) Total cholesterol (mg/dL)1; (D) HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) 2 ; (E) Non-HDL Cholesterol (mg/dL)3; (F) Atherogenic index2 of animals in the control groups (SHAM – standard diet. CHF – high-fat diet) and those that consumed a high-fat diet with the addition of bocaiuva nut (HFA) at concentrations of 1, 2 and 4% for 13 weeks. Each columns represents the mean and the bar the standard error of the mean. Different letters indicate significant difference between experimental groups. n=15. (1Kruskal-Wallis/Dunns, 2ANOVA/Tukey, 3Kruskal-Wallis/Fisher LSD), p<0.05.

According to our results regarding serum TC (Figure 2C), the highest values ​​were observed for the HF A2% group, with the other groups showing lower values. Although the SHAM group had lower levels of this parameter, there was no significant difference between the CHF, HF A1% and HF A4% groups. The blood concentration of HDL-c was higher for the HF A1%, HF A2% and HF A4% groups than the SHAM and CHF groups (Figure 2D).

Concerning non-HDL-c, we verified that adding 1% of the nut maintained levels equal to that of the SHAM group (Figure 2E). The results for the atherogenic index did not indicate a difference between groups, which reveals a possible trend towards adequate cardiovascular health of the animals studied since, in some groups, a higher content of TC was compensated by higher levels of HDL-c (Figure 2F).

At the beginning of the experiment, i.e., before the experimental diets were offered, the oral glucose tolerance test was performed (Table 1), without significant differences observed either in the analysis of the curve or in the area under the curve (Figure 3). After 6 weeks of feed consumption with different nut concentrations, the 1% and 2% proportions showed a tendency to keep blood glucose lower than the CHF group, although without significant difference. However, analyzing the area under the curve of both moments, there was no impact compared with the SHAM group (Figure 3).

Figure 3
Area under the curve (%) before (A), during (6 weeks) (B) and after (12 weeks) offering experimental diets (C) with animals from the control groups (SHAM and CHF) and those that consumed a high-fat diet with the addition of bocaiuva nut (HFA) at concentrations of 1, 2 and 4%, n=15. Different lowercase letters in the column indicate a significant difference between the experimental groups (Tukey's post-test, p<0.05).

3.5. Adipokine concentration: cytokines IL-6, IL-10, TNFα and MCP-1

In the evaluation of cytokine concentrations, freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts did not reduce the activity of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL6, TNFα and MCP-1, nor promote the increase of the activity of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL10 (Figure 4).

Figure 4
Inflammatory activity of pro-inflammatory IL6 (A), TNFα (B) and anti-inflammatory cytokines IL10 (C) and chemokine MCP-1 (D) in animals from the control groups (SHAM and CHF) and those that consumed a high-fat diet with the addition of bocaiuva nut (HFA) at concentrations of 1, 2 and 4% during 13 weeks. n=15. Different lowercase letters in the column indicate a significant difference between the experimental groups (Tukey's post-test, p<0.05).

3.6. Effects of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts on hepatic lipid composition

For liver lipids, bocaiuva nut consumption was unable to prevent the accumulation of such fat, and we observed the lowest concentration in the SHAM group compared with the other groups (Table 6).

Table 6
Lipids, triglycerides, total hepatic cholesterol and liver weight of animals belonging to the control groups and those with freeze-dried bocaiuva nut ingestion

Parameters	Experimental Groups
	SHAM	CHF	HF A1%	HF A2%	HF A4%
Lipids (g/100g)1	9.957±0.849b	19.913±1.765a	21.564±1.777a	19.203±1.376a	20.990±2.586a
Triglycerides (mg/dL)1	324.170±27.675b	423.071±18.675ab	515.192±51.096a	547.425±52.779a	498.752±49.805a
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)2	87.068±4.931	133.353±17.766	122.762±13.926	135.362±11.636	128.932±12.830
Relative weight (g)2	4.278±0.172	4.935±0.389	4.805±0.225	5.052±0.294	5.151±0.371

• Evaluation of ectopic accumulation of hepatic lipids (mg/g). Hepatic triglycerides and total hepatic cholesterol (mg/dL) of control animals (SHAM and HF) and animals that ingested a hyperlipidic diet with the addition of bocaiuva nut (A) at concentrations of 1, 2 and 4%. Values represent the mean ± standard error of the mean. In the same line, different letters indicate a significant difference, n=15, p<0.05. (1Kruskal-Wallis/Dunns, 2Kruskal-Wallis).

Concerning hepatic triglycerides, nuts also did not contribute to the low accumulation since the groups that consumed bocaiuva nuts had the highest values, showing a significant difference from the SHAM group. There was no significant difference between groups for hepatic total cholesterol values (Table 6).

4. Discussion

Bocaiuva (Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd), also known as macauba, belongs to the Arecaceae family; it is a fruit with technological potential, sold mainly in natura in local markets, found throughout Brazil, abundant in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, predominating in open forests and savannas (Bortolotto et al., 2021; Oliveira et al., 2019). Its composition stands out for presenting antioxidant activity and the activity of provitamin A, whose intake is reported to prevent cardiovascular diseases, cancers and other degenerative diseases (Oliveira et al., 2019).

As expected, the moisture content of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts was lower than that found in the literature, which refers to the in natura product, ranging from 6.5% to 20.2%. However, the high moisture present in the nut can negatively influence the oil extraction process (Prates et al., 2015).

Values reported for bocaiuva nut are close to that of our work (2.63). Hiane et al. (2006) obtained 1.99%, while Dessimoni-Pinto et al. (2010) indicated 1.93% and Lescano et al. (2015), 1.86%.

Among the nut components, the lipid content found in our work was the most expressive, since it corresponds to just over 50% of it. The freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts had two prominent fatty acids, lauric fatty acid (31.63%), which was the highest proportion, a saturated fatty acid, followed by oleic acid (29.83%), of an unsaturated chain.

The values most resembling our results were those found by Campidelli et al. (2020), which corresponded to 38.98% of lauric acid and 29.13% of oleic acid. Toledo e Silva et al. (2022) found similar contents in the oil in question, with 31% of lauric acid and 25.76% of oleic acid.

In the experimental design, we observed that after 12 weeks of a high-fat diet with the addition of bocaiuva nut at concentrations of 1, 2, and 4% did not impact body weight and weight gain, nor influence food intake, Food Efficacy Coefficient and Weight per Caloric Intake. Our results were similar to those obtained by Toledo e Silva et al. (2022) (Silva et al., 2023) after 90 days of in vivo supplementation of bocaiuva oil (1000 and 2000 mg/kg/day) did not influence the animal intake and body weight. It is important to note that when comparing the weight of the animals in the SHAM group (fed AIN-93M diet) with those fed a high-fat diet, we observed a significant difference, i.e. the experimental model was efficient in allowing the animals to gain weight.

This result corroborate with other studies (Silva et al., 2023). However, in contrast, Monteiro-Alfredo et al. (2021), who performed the treatment for 30 days with 200 mg.kg−1 aqueous extract of the fruit pulp of Acrocomia aculeata in non-obese type 2 diabetic Wistar rats, found reduced fasting blood glucose, demonstrating that its nutritional properties may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of diabetes and its complications. This experiment indicates that using other concentrations and administration forms may show better results on these parameters.

We also observed significant improvement in HDL-c values in the HF A2% group, besides reduced triglyceride levels in the HF group, similar results to those found in the study by Monteiro-Alfredo et al. (2021), in the same way as other studies that presented comparable results regarding metabolic changes under a high-fat diet (Domínguez-Avila et al., 2015; Lenquiste et al., 2015; Kamada et al., 2013), from which it is clear that the experimental model produces obesity complications similar to those in humans, as obesity develops from excessive calorie intake that closely mimics the human diet. It should also be noted that the carbohydrate content of the AIN-93M diet is higher than that of the high-fat diet, which may contribute to the increase in TG in this group.

Also, when obesity is identified, elevated abdominal adipose tissue levels produce an abundance of free fatty acids (FFA) released in the liver. These non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) cause excessive production of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein particles, such as very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL-c). When VLDL-c present elevated levels are associated with increased synthesis of atherogenic LDL (Betteridge, 1989). In contrast, HDL-c may protect against the development of atherosclerosis by reverse transport of cholesterol from the vessel wall back to the liver and decrease inflammation by protecting LDL-c from being oxidized. Nevertheless, under conditions of obesity, HDL-c levels decline due to reduced lipolysis and impaired clearance of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein. Such events favor hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance and low plasma levels of HDL-c (Chen et al., 2017).

Likewise, the mesenteric and retroperitoneal adipose tissues are related to visceral fat. Visceral obesity has been associated with an increased risk of insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease (Saltiel and Olefsky, 2017; Wronska and Kmiec, 2012). That may explain the results obtained for blood glucose and lipid profile. Having manifested less accumulation of these tissues, due to the 1% concentration of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts, it becomes a resource that can prevent complications related to obesity (Table 5). However, there was no significant difference between the groups for the adiposity index (Table 5).

Furthermore, bocaiuva nut was not able to influence the concentration of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, even with predominantly monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) in its composition, oleic (C18:1) being the major acid, followed by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), such as linoleic (C18:2) and alpha-linolenic (C18:3) acids, and saturated fatty acids (SFA), such as palmitic (C16:0) and stearic (C18:0) acids (Rodrigues et al., 2020; Ventro et al., 2017).

Araújo et al. (2017) also did not observe differences regarding the adiposity index in obese animals treated with baru (Dipteryx alata) nut. Dominguez-Avila et al. (2015) observed that the addition of pecan nuts in the form of oil or in natura did not contribute to the reduction of body fat in animals fed an HF diet; however, the addition of polyphenols from this material was able to maintain body fat levels equal to the control group.

Nunes et al. (2018) demonstrated that Acrocomia. aculeata nut oil has hypoglycemic effects, decreases weight gain and deposition of medium-chain fatty acids in epididymal adipose tissue in diabetic rats.

Although our data demonstrated that all concentrations did not have prominent effects on metabolic dysfunctions associated with obesity, our animal model, which was fed a high-fat diet, presented decreased TG serum levels when consuming HF A1% concentration and higher levels of HDL-c in all concentrations. Our suggestion could be to offer a long-term consumption of all concentrations of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts in HFD, which in turn could have a more pronounced effect on attenuating the metabolic disorders observed in our animal model. Our results suggest that bocaiuva nuts may serve as a functional food source in addressing metabolic dysfunctions associated with obesity, particularly in disorders affecting the lipid profile.

5. Conclusions

The freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts presents in its nutritional composition a predominance of fats and fibers, and of these, higher amounts of lauric fatty acid, a saturated fatty acid, followed by oleic acid, an unsaturated and monounsaturated chain.

The present study conducted in mice showed that administering freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts at the tested concentrations had no significant effects on weight gain and adiposity levels. It slightly affects blood glucose; however, the 1% concentration reduces serum TG and shows benefits in HDL-c values between groups that consumed different concentrations of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts. Studies evaluating the nutritional properties of bocaiuva nuts are scarce. Our data suggests that bocaiuva nuts can serve as a functional food to prevent and as adjuvant treatment to metabolic disorders associated with obesity due to the centesimal composition and fatty acid profile. Future studies focusing on controlled clinical trials are essential to elucidate the metabolic effects of freeze-dried bocaiuva nuts, whose composition is rich in fatty acids and nutritional value, suggest promising potential in modulating insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, and lipid profile, potentially consolidating it as an effective functional ingredient in the prevention and management of metabolic disorders in humans.

Supplementary Material

Supplementary material accompanies this paper.

Supplementary Fig. 1

Parts of the Acrocomia aculeata fruit

This material is available as part of the online article from https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.296091

Acknowledgements

Graduate Program in Health and Development in the Central-West Region of Brazil, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul-UFMS, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior and and Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul (FUNDECT) for support. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brazil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001 and Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul (FUNDECT) for support. This research was partially supported by the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq) (CNPq: process n^o 304312/2025-8; CNPq: process n^o 313985/2023-5 and CNPq: Process n^o 314551/2023-9).

Data Availability Statement

The entire data set that supports the results of this study was published in the article itself.

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Edited by

• Editor:
  Takako Matsumura Tundisi

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  01 Dec 2025
• Date of issue
  2025

History

• Received
  17 Apr 2025
• Accepted
  22 July 2025