Chemical characterization of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) seeds

The aim of this study was to determine the chemical characteristics of passion fruit seeds and their oil for possible use in human food and reduction of organic waste from fruit industrialization. Passion fruit seeds were analyzed for moisture, lipids, proteins, ash, fibers, titratable acidity, pH, soluble solids and antioxidant activity. The oil was characterized for parameters such as acid value, saponification, iodine and peroxide. The content of oil extracted demonstrates that it has good potential for  industrial utilization. According to analyses, the oil has characteristics similar to conventional edible oils such as soybean, and may be a new source of human consumption. Passion fruit seeds have high nutritional value, proving to be a promising product, mainly because it contains  significant amounts of proteinase. Therefore, passion fruit seeds and their oil should be used as raw material in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industry, as they have beneficial features.Key words: Industrial utilization, characterization, by-products

Urban wild meat consumption and trade in Central Amazonia

The switch from hunting wild meat for home consumption to supplying more lucrative city marketsin Amazonia can adversely affect some game species. Despite this, information on the amounts of wild meateaten in Amazonian cities is still limited. We estimated wild meat consumption rates in 5 cities in the State ofAmazonas in Brazil through 1046 door-to-door household interviews conducted from 2004 to 2012. With thesedata, we modeled the relationship between wild meat use and a selection of socioeconomic indices. We thenscaled up our model to determine the amounts of wild meat likely to be consumed annually in the 62 urbancenters in central Amazonia. A total of 80.3% of all interviewees reported consuming wild meat during an averageof 29.3 (CI 11.6) days per year. Most wild meat was reported as bought in local markets (80.1%) or hunted by afamily member (14.9%). Twenty-one taxa were cited as consumed, mostly mammals (71.6%), followed by reptiles(23.2%) and then birds (5.2%). The declared frequency of wild meat consumption was positively correlated withthe proportion of rural population as well as with the per capita gross domestic product of the municipality(administrative divisions) where the cities were seated. We estimated that as much as 10,691 t of wild meat mightbe consumed annually in the 62 urban centers within central Amazonia, the equivalent of 6.49 kg per person peryear. In monetary terms, this amounts to US$21.72 per person per year or US$35.1 million overall, the latter figureis comparable to fish and timber production in the region. Given this magnitude of wild meat trade in centralAmazonia, it is fundamental to integrate this activity into the formal economy and actively develop policies thatallow the trade of more resilient taxa and restrict trade in species sensitive to hunting