Samuel O Baiyeri^1,2 , Grace TO Otitoju³, Adesola A Satimehin⁴, Junia M Clemente²

¹Department of Crop Science and Horticulture, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria; ²Department of Agronomy, Federal University, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil; ³Department of Molecular Translational Medicine, Paul Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University, Health Sciences Centre, El Paso, TX, USA; ⁴Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria.

For correspondence:-  Samuel Baiyeri   Email: baiyerisamuel@gmail.com

Received: 1 October 2025        Accepted: 16 March 2026        Published: 31 March 2026

Citation: Baiyeri SO, Otitoju GT, Satimehin AA, Clemente JM. Ethnomedicinal applications, food value, pharmaceutical and economic potentials of Macauba palm (Acrocomia aculeata) - A systematic review. Trop J Pharm Res 2026; 25(3):427-438 doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v25i3.16

© 2026 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To review the ethnomedicinal applications, food value, pharmaceutical and economic potentials of Macauba palm (Acrocomia aculeata).

Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was was used in the review. PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and SciELO were used to identify studies published from 2010 to 2025. One hundred and twenty-seven records were located, fifty-nine complete texts were evaluated, and forty-three studies were included in the synthesis.

Results: Macauba palm has antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial properties, with oleic acid, carotenoids, and tocopherols among the bioactive compounds that support its use in food and pharmaceutical products. It offers animal feed coproducts, industrial products, such as biocomposites and activated carbon, and high-quality oils. As a source of biofuel, its oil has the potential for biodiesel and aviation fuels.

Conclusion: Macauba palm has significant potential to promote sustainable growth, food security, human nutrition, health, and renewable energy. Macauba palm would transform 21st-century tropical and subtropical agriculture and bioeconomy through strategic investment, research, and the facilitation of policy frameworks

Keywords: Acrocomia aculeata, Ethnomedicinal role, Macauba palm, Food value, Pharmaceutical benefits

Impact Factor
Thompson Reuters (ISI): 0.6 (2023)
H-5 index (Google Scholar): 49 (2023)