The seeds of Sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.) from Colombia were analyzed for their main chemical composition. Sacha inchi seeds (SIS) were rich in oil (41.4%) and protein (24.7%). The main minerals present in SIS were potassium (5563.5 ppm), magnesium (3210 ppm) and calcium (2406 ppm). A fatty acid analysis revealed that a-linolenic (50.8%) and linoleic (33.4%) acids were the main fatty acids in Sacha inchi oil (SIO). The lipid fractionation of SIO, obtained by solid phase extraction, yielded mainly neutral lipids (97.2%), and lower amounts of free fatty acids (1.2%) and phospholipids (0.8%). The physicochemical properties of the oil include: saponification number 185.2; iodine value 193.1; density 0.9187 g/cm3, refractive index 1.4791 and viscosity of 35.4 mPa.s. The melting profiles of SIO were characterized by the presence of one wide endothermic peak with a melting enthalpy of 23.2 J/g. Our results indicate that Sacha inchi is an important new crop with applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Mesoporous silica materials (MSM) with ordered and controllable porous structure, high surface area, pore volume and thermal stability are very suitable catalyst supports, because they provide high dispersion of metal nanoparticles and facilitate the access of the substrates to the active sites. Since the conventional wet-impregnation and deposition-precipitation methods are not appropriate for the incorporation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into MSM, considerable efforts have been made to develop suitable methods to synthesize Au/MSM catalysts, because the incorporation of AuNPs into the channel system can prevent their agglomeration and leaching. In this review, we summarize the main methods to synthesize active gold catalysts supported on MSM. Examples and details of the preparative methods, as well as selected applications are provided. We expect this article to be interesting to researchers due to the wide variety of chemical reactions that can be catalyzed by gold supported catalysts.