A castanheira: história natural e importância socioeconômica

Abstract

Brazil nut is a species of multiple use, native to the Amazon and widely exploited over the extractivist system, both for its edible seeds and for its wood, used mainly in the construction of houses. In the past, fibers removed from the binder were also important products for the caulking of vessels. The first account of this species was made by Frei Cristóvão de Lisboa in the seventeenth century, when emphasized that the excessive consumption of its seeds implied hair loss. In the light of current knowledge, Hair loss is one of the symptoms of selenose, ie the toxicity of selenium consumption at levels well above of the human body. This chemical element occurs at very high levels in Brazil nuts. What was known by the aborigines of Para as anhaúba was initially called such as Brazil nut. Subsequently, the Portuguese colonizer called it Brazil nut, when the state of Pará became its largest producer and exporter, it became known as Brazil nut, name still widely used in the Brazilian Amazon. The name Brazil nut, as it is currently known in Brazil, the whole world, was officially adopted by the Brazilian government in the 1950s, with a view to international trade. This denomination has been challenged in recent years by non-governmental organizations and other countries producers, who have unsuccessfully proposed the name of Brazil nut (J. E. U. Carvalho, personal communication, June 19, 2013).