The chemical composition of sapuacia (Lecythis pisonis Camb.) from the Santa Rita Experiment Station, São Paulo Forest Institute, Passa Quatro, São Paulo, Brazil, was studied. Proximate chemical analytical methodology followed the 'analytical methods of the Adolfo Lutz Institute, 1985;' samples were digested with H2SO4 and H2O2-foracid in a microwave and minerals determined by ICP-AES. Fats represented 63.5% and proteins 19.9% fresh weight, explaining the high energy content of 684 kcal; 17.1 mg/100 g of vitamin C were also observed. The fatty acid profile and iodine value (113.5) were similar to those of corn (Zea mays) oil. Linoleic acid was predominant (48.6%); this is an essential fatty acid and has a role in loss of seed viability. Sapucaia's fatty acid profile, oil and protein contents were similar to those of Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa), a cultivated species of the same family. The seeds contained high concentrations of Na (49.8 mg/g), K (46.5 mg/g), B (64.5 mg/g), Mn (19.0 ųg/g), Fe (14.2 ųg/g) and Al (4.91 ųg/g). The high concentration of Pb (0.96 ųg/g), above the legal Brazilian limit (0.5 ųg/g), suggests sample toxicity and anthropogenic contamination of the plantation site.
chemical composition; fatty acids; heavy metals