Determination of the tannin content extracted from the tara sheath (Caesalpinia spinosa) from the Portete neighborhood, Gonzanamá canton of the province of Loja

Abstract

The tara (Caesalpinia spinosa)is a forest species native to South America, which presents a great potential in the world industry in the field of agro-export and agribusiness, for the use of its derivatives as tannins, which has anunmet demand in the market to be used in tanning and food industries; the present thesis project had the purpose of determining the amount of tannins present in the fruits collected in El Portete neighborhood, for this purpose, aqueous extracts were elaborated by maceration and heating, to which were make organoleptic (color and smell) and physical-chemical (p H and density) analyses, and, the quantification of tannins to each extract, considering two concentrations ofpotassium permanganate solution (0.025and 0.1 N). The results show that the organoleptic and physicochemical characteristics of the extracts obtained by heating and maceration did not present significant differences between them, except fo r the pH that ranges from moderately (3,7) to slightlyacid (4,3); as regards the quantification of tannins, there is a similarity between the values obtained with th e tw o extraction methods; however, there were differences between the value s re a ch e d w ith the two concentrations of potassium permanganate, obtaining the best yields (52,5 %) at the concentration of KMnO4at 0,1 N. Keywords:Potentiality, Quantification of tannins, Concentrations and Yield