Characterisation and in vivo evaluation of Araucaria angustifolia pinhão seed coat nanosuspension as a functional food source

Abstract

Araucaria angustifolia seeds from South America are culturally important; however, the seed coat is generally discarded and it has yet to find a beneficial commercial impact. Herein, we propose a new formulation for the use of the seed coat for the production of a food source. A nanosuspension was developed under two conditions, bleached and unbleached treatment. Initial characterisation of the seed coat, as well as the nanosuspension, was conducted, in which nanofibrils with antioxidant activity and high values of phenol and sterol classes with health-promoting ability were detected by GC-MS; however, after bleaching, the compounds were removed. The nanosuspension induced a decrease in cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose levels and weight gain when added to the daily rat diet. No significant differences were determined when bleach treatment was used, suggesting that dietary fibre plays a more significant role. Histology analysis and biochemical markers reported no toxicity from the rat ingestion of the nanoformulation.