Editing Bactris gasipaes (section)

== Fruit and uses ==

Peach palm fruit is pulpy and nutritious, with uses including cooked fruit, flour, cooking oil, and fermented or preserved preparations. Cooking is customary before eating because heat reduces trypsin inhibitors and calcium oxalates associated with digestive and mouth irritation.<sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup> Follow local food-preparation practice rather than eating raw fruit casually.

The species is also the principal commercial source of heart-of-palm in many producing regions. Leaves, fruit residues, seeds, oil meal, and heart-of-palm rinds can enter animal-feed or other local-use systems, while leaves and stems have traditional material uses.<sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup> Colombian plant-use records also list food, oil, fibre, material, and ornamental uses.<sup id="cite_ref-5">[[#cite_note-5|[5]]]</sup> These uses vary by cultivar, region, and production objective.