Revisão de aspectos produtivos e de importância socioambiental de pequi (Caryocar sp.)

Abstract

The Brazilian Cerrado is one of the five great biomes in Brazil and the second largest plant formation in the country. It covers about 25% of the national territory, being considered one of the regions with the greatest biodiversity and endemism in the world. It is estimated that the Cerrado has more than 6 thousand species of trees and one of the most important NTFPs (Non-Timber Forest Products) in the Cerrado: the pequi (Caryocar sp.) of the Cariocarácea family, is considered of high culinary value and helps in cooking income generation for many families. (OLIVEIRA & DUARTE, 2004). Although it has a high economic, environmental and social value, there is still a demand for more knowledge and consequent appreciation of this fruit by the Brazilian population, mainly due to the vast benefits for health and the need to raise awareness for preservation. This study aimed to discuss and perform a bibliographical analysis on pequi (Caryocar sp.) a non-timber forest product native to the Brazilian Cerrado. The methodology used for the construction of the work was a narrative bibliographic research, with information collected from a literature survey of 39 documents/publications as reference. Thus, pequi is an extremely important fruit for the population, the local economy and the environment