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Abstract
Peach palm has regions adjacent to the heart-of-palm that are normally neglected by the industry, and have potential to be utilized in minimally processed form. We characterized three parts of peach palm, evaluating anatomical, physicochemical and physiological parameters aiming to increase the industrial yield and evaluate shelf-life of the fresh-cut product. Harvested rods were sectioned into apical, median and basal segments, and analyzed for yield, firmness, soluble solids, titratable acidity, vitamin C, sugars and starch. Segments were sampled for anatomy and measurement of ethylene and respiration rates. After fresh-cut operations, segments were stored for 15 days at 5 °C and evaluated for surface color and carbohydrate content. The total yield based on length and fresh-mass was 85% and 70%, respectively. Hearts of palm were firmer toward the edges of apical and basal regions; the median region was the softest (14 N). The median region showed the highest SSC, 8.6 ºBrix and vitamin C, 9.4 mg ascorbic acid 100 g−1 FW, and maintained the highest ethylene production, either whole or sliced. Respiration rate of all regions decreased 1 h after segmentation, the apical region showed the highest rate, 364 mL CO2 kg−1 h−1, followed by median and basal. Yellowing and pronounced color difference occurred after two weeks of storage in all the studied regions. Partially differentiated vascular bundles were present in all regions. Based on firmness and chemical parameters, all regions have potential for use as minimally processed product and can be stored up to 7 days, maintaining the original color.