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Current Research Journal of Biological Sciences 3(1): 64-72, 2011
ISSN: 2041-0778
© Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2011
Redeiveded: December 03, 2010 Accepted: December 25, 2010 Published: January 15, 2011
Corresponding Author: W.R. Compaoré, CRSBAN/UFR-SVT/ University of Ouagadougou, 03 P.O. Box 7131, Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso
64
Chemical Composition and Antioxidative Properties of Seeds of Moringa oleifera
and Pulps of Parkia biglobosa and Adansonia digitata Commonly used in Food
Fortification in Burkina Faso
1W.R. Compaoré , 1P.A. Nikièm a, 1H.I.N . Bassolé, 1A. Savadog o, 2J. Mouecoucou,
3D.J. Hounhouigan and 1S.A. Traoré
1CRSBAN/UFR-SVT/University of Ouagadougou, 03 P.O. Box 7131
Ouagadougo u, Burkina Faso
2Département de Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université des Sciences de la Santé,
Libreville (Gabo n)
3Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences/FSA, University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin)
Abstract: This study aimed to identify the nutrient composition and antioxidant properties of seeds of Moringa
oleifera and pulps of Adansonia digita ta and Parkia biglobos a. Crude proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, crude
fibers, ashes and mineral elements were determined. Total phenols, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins of seeds and
pulps were reported. The seeds of Moringa oleifera are particularly rich in proteins (35.37±0.07 g/100 g), lipids
(43.56±0.03 g/100 g), and minerals (Mg2+ and Zn2+). Pulps of Adanson ia digitata and Parkia biglobosa have
a relatively high c arbohydrates co ntent (67.8±0.05 g/100 g and 67.66 ±0.05 g/100 g, respectively). Glucose,
fructose and sucrose were the main carbohydra tes of seeds of Moringa oleifera and pulps of Ada nsonia digitata
and Parkia big lobosa. Seeds of Moringa oleifera have the highest proanthocyanidin and flavonoid content
whereas pulps of Adansonia digitata and Parkia biglobosa were characterized by the highest total phenol
content. Seeds of Moringa oleifera had the strongest MBTH radicals scavenging activity (99.74%) compared
to the pulps of Adanson ia digita ta and Parkia biglobosa 94.98 and 79.40%, respectively. This study indicated
that these pulps and seeds have a good potential in macro and micronutrients content and for its valorization
they can be effectively used to fortify staple food particularly for children and contribute to erad icate
malnutrition due to micronutrients deficiencies.
Key wor ds: Functional, Leguminoseae, nutritional, unde r exploited products
INTRODUCTION
Edible wild indigenous plants become an alternative
source of food with high potential of vitamins, minerals
and others interesting elements particularly during
seasonal food shortage (February to May)
(Glew et al., 2005). Wild fruits are also known to have
nutritional and medicinal properties that can be attributed
to their antioxidant effects and they can be used to
fortify staple foods p articularly for malnourished children
(Meda et al., 2008).
The present stud ies aimed at providing complete
proximal and minerals composition of the fruit pulp of
Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) Benth., comm only called néré
and fruit pulp of Adanson ia digitata (monkey bread) and
seeds of Moringa oleifera (horradish tree) through
characterization and quantification of their main phenolic
and bioactive compounds.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sample collection: Burkina Faso is a sub Saharan country
with tropica l, dry and arid c limate (Characterized by
rainfalls variation with an average o f 350 mm in No rth to
1000 mm in South-w est) with 2 contrasted seasons (rains
lasts May-June to September and dry season lasts October
to May). Due to unequal reparation of the rains pulps of
Parkia biglobosa, Andasonia digita ta and seeds of
Moringa oleifera were collected immediately after
maturation in different regions of Burk ina from April to
June 2008. The first region was Ouagadougou (Central
region and capital city of Burkina Faso with annual rains
around 750 mm), Badala (located at 400 km West from
Ouagadougou where rains were around 900-1200 mm per
year), Koupela (140 km Ea st from Ouagadougou w here
annual pluviometry was around 800 mm) and Ouahigouya
(200 km North from Ouagadougou with annual rain s with
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 3(1): 64-72, 2011
65
600 mm aroun d). Fresh fruits were harveste d, packed in
airtight polyethylene paper bags and send to the research
centre (CRSBAN) at the University of Ouagadougou
where they were dried at laboratory tem perature (25ºC ).
Flesh and seeds were manually ground in mortar and
passed through a 25 mm sieve and kept for further
analysis.
Nutritional composition: Moisture content has been
analyzed by the Codex-adopted AOAC method 934.06
(1990) and ashes by the AOAC official method 940.26
(1990).
Total lipids were analyzed according to the method
described by AOAC official method 922.06 (1990) using
desegregation by hydrochloric acid and results were
expressed as g/100 g dried matter (DM ).
The AOAC official method 920.87 (1990) was used
to determine total proteins in pulps while proteins of
Moringa oleifera seeds were assessed using the AOAC
official method 992.23 (1990) afte r lipid extraction.
Total carbohydrates were analyzed according to the
939.03 AOAC official methods (1990). Fiber content was
determined by the ISO method (ISO, 1981). Two grams
of finely ground defatted sam ple were weighed and boiled
with sulfuric a cid solution (0.255 mol/L) for half an hour
followed by separation and washing of the in soluble
residue. The residue was then boiled with a sodium
hydroxide (0.313 mol/L) solution followed by separation,
washing and drying. The dried residue was weighed and
ashed in a muffle furnace at 600ºC and the loss in mass
was determined.
Potassium and sodium content were assessed by
flame spectrophotometer (Sena et al., 1998) while
calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc and copper
were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotom eter
(Sena et al., 1998). Phosphorus was analyzed
by Technicon Auto-analyzer methodology
(Lockett et al., 2000).
Mono and disaccharides analysis: Carbohydrates were
extracted from each sample of pulps and seeds following
the procedure described by Stockfleth and
Brunne r (1999).
A simple HPLC method is proposed to the
assessment of the main carbohydrates in pulps and seeds:
glucose, fructose and sucrose, (Sesta et al., 2006). The
chromato graphic determination is an HPLC analysis with
refractive index detection (Bogdanov et al., 1997b), but
the sample preparation was developed for the application
to a matrix (RJ) that requires more complex processing.
The HPLC analysis is carried out on a water/methanol
solution of RJ, after protein precipitation by means of
Carrez reagents (Bogdanov et al., 1997a) and lipid
removal by extraction with dichloromethane.
From each homogenized sample, 0.5 g was placed in
50 mL volumetric flask and mixed with 25 mL of hot
demonized water. A 2 mL volume of Carrez I reagent
(distilled water solution of potassium hexacyanoferrate
(II), K4Fe(CN)6
A3H2O, 15 g/100 mL) was added and
mixed. Subsequently a 0.2 mL volum e of Carrez II
reagent (distilled water solution of zinc acetate,
Zn(CH3COO)2
A2H2O, 30 g/100 mL) was added and
mixed. The mixture was shaken and kept at room
temperature (25ºC) for 10 min. After centrifugation at
1400 g for 10 min, to remove the protein fraction the
supernatant was filtered into a 50 mL volumetric flask.
The residue was washed tw ice with demonized water (5
mL) and centrifuged again at 1400 g for 10 min then
filtered into the volumetric flask. Demonized water was
added up to a final volume of 50 mL. Twenty microliters
of sample were injected and run for 35 min at 30ºC. The
carbohydrates were identified by their retention time
characteristics.
Fatty acid analysis: Measurement of fatty acid was
carried out by GC-M S. Fatty acids we re transformed to
their methyl-esters (FAME) following the method of
Hartman and Lago (1973). The FAM E com pounds were
injected into D B-5 semi-polar column (50 m; i.d.: 0.25
mm). The co lumn temperature was programm ed to remain
isothermal at 90ºC for 8 m in, after which the temperature
was increased at a rate of 10ºC per min to 180ºC and
stayed for 35 min. The volatiles fatty acids were identified
using an Agilent 6890 gas chromatograph interfaced with
a Agilent 5973 mass selective detector. Electron impact
mass spectral analysis was carried out at ionization energy
of 70 eV. The structural arrangements of the volatiles
were established by comparing mass spectra of separated
compounds with NIST/EPA/NIH M S database v 5.0 using
a microcomputer system.
Extracts:
Extraction of phenolic compounds: Phenolic
compounds were extracted according to the method
developed by André et al. (2007) with slight
modifications. Approximate ly 5.0 g of each sam ple were
mixed with 100 mL of 80% methanol, wrapped with
aluminum foil and homogenized in an Ultra-Turax
macerator. The mixture w as put to dryness at 60ºC for 1
h 30 min with intermittent shaking followed by
centrifugation. After centrifugation at 1400 g for 15 min,
the supernatant was collected and evaporated to dryness
at 37ºC. Phen olic compound s were re-suspen ded in 5 mL
of HPLC-grade methanol and stored at 20ºC.
Determination of total phenols, flavonoids, and
proanth ocyanidin conten t: The total phenols were
determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 3(1): 64-72, 2011
66
(Singleton et al., 1999). An extract of 0.1 g was dissolved
in 100 mL methanol. An aliquot of 0.5 mL was mixed in
an amber flask with 0.5 mL of the Folin-Ciocalteau
reagent followed by 0.5 mL of 100 mg/m L sodium
carbonate/distilled water (w /v). The mixture was allowed
to stand for 2 h and the optical density was measured at
765 nm. Total phen ols were express ed as mg of gallic
acid equivalent/g (DM ).
Flavonoids were assessed using a modified
colorimetric method (Jia et al., 1999). An extract solution
of 0.25 mL, 1 mg/mL was added to a test tube containing
1.25 mL of distilled water. Then 0.075 mL of 5% sodium
nitrite solution (w/v) was added to the mixture and
incubated at 25ºC for 5 min. After addition of 0.15 mL of
10% aluminium chloride, the mixture was incubated for
6 min at 25ºC and 0.5 m L of 1M sodium hydroxide was
added. The mixture was finally diluted with 0.275 mL of
distilled water and the absorbance measured at 510 nm.
Flavonoids content was express ed as mg of quercetin
equivalents/g (DM) based on a standard curve.
Proanthocyanidins were determined according to the
procedure described by Sun et al. (1998). Five hundred
microliters of the extract solution were mixed with 3 mL
of 4% vanillin/methanol (v/v) and 1.5 mL of pure
hydroch loric acid. The mixture was incubated and heated
at 100ºC for 2 h. After cooling, the absorbance was
measured at 550 nm. The final result was expressed as mg
of catechin equivalent /g (DM ).
The phosphomolybdenum assay: The antioxidant
activities of methanol extracts were evaluated according
to the phosphomolybdenum method developed by
Prieto et al. (1999). Aliquots of 0.2 mL of sample
solutions (50 :g/mL in dimethyl sulfoxide) were
combined in 4 mL vials with 2 mL of reagent solutions
(0.6 M sulphuric acid, 28 mM sodium phosphate and 4
mM ammonium molybdate). The vials were capped and
incubated in a water bath at 95ºC for 90 min. Samples
were coole d down at room temperature and the
absorbance was measured at 695 nm. The antioxidant
activity was expressed as mg of vitamin C equivalent / g
(DM).
Determination of the antioxidant activity with the
b-carotene bleaching method: The antiox idant activity
of extracts was evaluated using $-carotene-linoleic acid
(Miller, 1971; Kabouche et al., 2007). A stock solution of
$-carotene-lino leic acid mixture was prepared as follows:
0.5 mg of $-carotene was dissolved in 1 mL of chloroform
(HPLC grade); 25 :L of linoleic acid and 200 mL of
tween 40 were added as emulsifier because $-carotene is
not water soluble. Chloroform was completely evaporated
using a vacuum evaporator. T hen, 100 mL of distilled
water saturated with oxygen was added with vigorous
shaking at a rate of 100 mL/min for 30 min; 2500 :L of
this reaction mixture was dispersed to test tubes, and 350
:L portions of ex tracts, prepared in 2 g/L concentrations,
were adde d. The emulsion system was incu bated for up to
48 h at room temperature. The same procedure was
repeated with a positive control BHT and a blank. After
this incubation time, the absorbance of the mixture was
measured at 490 nm. A ntioxidant capacities of extracts
were com pared with those a t the BHT and th e blank.
Tests were carried out in triplicate.
Inhibition of coloration of $-carote ne in percentage
(I%) was calculated as:
I% inhibition = [(Ablank - Asample)]/ Ablank] × 100
Where Ablank is the absorbance of the control reaction
(containing of the reagents except the test compound) and
Asample is the absorbance of the test compound.
Statistical analysis: All assays were carrie d out in
triplicate, and the means and standard deviations are
reported using SPSS for Windows 13. Differences in
mean performance for each composition among sample
coming from each area were tested by the Stu dent’s t-test.
p<0.05 implies significa nce. Pearson linear correlation
coefficients were used to assess relationships among total
phenolic compounds, and biochemical constituents.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Regional variability: Physico chemical analysis of pulps
coming from different regions did not shown significant
statistical difference between samples. Statistical analysis
of seeds samples from different regions has not presented
statistical difference. So, results of each analysis were
pooled tog ether for further analys is.
Proximate analysis of seeds: The results of the
proximate composition (Table 1) revealed that seeds of
Moringa oleifera, as other legumes, are good source of
fats, proteins, and crude fibers. In th is study lipid content
is about 43.56±0.03% and is greater than that from Brazil
reported by Oliveira et al. (1999). It is higher than that
reported for various soybean varieties (14.9 to 22.0 g /100
g) (Leffel and Rhodes, 1996; Vasconcelos et al., 1997)
and comparab le with th ose of peanut (44.0 to 54.7 g /100
g) (Grosso et al., 1997), castor bean (47.91 g/100 g) (Polit
and Sgarbieri, 1976), rapeseed (43.7 to 49.7g / 100 g)
(Zhou et al., 1990), sunflowe r (45.54 to 47.85g / 100 g)
(Saeed and Cheryan, 1988; Alza and Fernandez-
Martinez, 1997) and mustard (24.0-40.0%), grown in the
United States, Brazil, China and som e othe r Asian
and European (Pritchard, 1991). Ac cording to
Tsaknis et al. (1999) the oil concentration varied from 25
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 3(1): 64-72, 2011
67
Table 1: Proximal analysis of pulps of P. biglobosa, A. digitata and seeds of M. oleifera
Content
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis P. biglobosa A. digitata M. oleifera
Moisture (g/100 g DM) 8.43±0.21 8.52±0.20 2.14±0.01*
Ash (g/100 g DM) 4.84±0.04 4.97±0.02 4.98±0.04
Proteins (g/100 g DM) 5.37±0.07 5.23±0.03 35.37±0.07*
Lipids (g/100 g DM) 1.72±0.02 1.61±0.01 43.56±0.03*
Total Carbohydrates (g/100 g DM) 67.66±0.05 67.8±2.1* 9.17±0.25
Crude fibre (g/100 g DM) 11.98±0.02 11.87±0.01 4.70± 0.2
*: p = 0.05
Table 2: Relative percent composition of fatty acid in M. oleifera seed oil
Country
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fatty acids Burkina Faso1M alays ia2Greece3Kenya4
C8:0 0.04±0.01 -0.03 0.03
C14:0 0.1±0.06 0.1 0.13 0.11
C16:0 5.57±0.31 7.8 6.46 6.04
C16:1 1.28±0.09 2.2 1.45 1.57
C17:0 0.1±0.04 -0.08 0.09
C18:0 3.84±0.43 7.6 5.88 4.14
C18:1 72.4±0.55 67.9 71.21 73 .6
C18:2 0.95±0.35 1.1 0.65 0.73
C18:3 0.45±0.12 0.2 0.18 0.22
C20:0 3.4±0.40 43.6 2.76
C20:1 2.7 ±0 .2 1.5 2.22 2.4
C22:0 6.95±0.32 6.2 6.41 6.73
C22:1 0.14±0.07 -0.12 0.14
C24:0 1.5 8± 0.1 1.3 -1.08
C26:0 0.08±0.02 -1.18 -
Total satu red fa tty acid 2.66±0.01 27±1 23.77±0.05 20.98±0.03
Total mo no insatured fa tty acid 76.52±0.02 71.8±0.05 75±2 77.71±0.01
Total po ly insatured fatty acid 1.4±0.01 1.1±0.1 0.83 ± 0.02 0.95±0.03
Total 99.5 99 .9 99 .6 99.64
1: Our stud y; 2: Abdulkarim et al. (200 5); 3: Lala s and T sak nis (2002 b); 4: Tsaknis et al. (1999)
to 35.7% depending on different extraction methods.
Anwar et al. (2006) have found after oil extraction by
hexane method 38.37% in the seeds samples of Jhang
region (Pakistan) which were assayed from the Moringa
oleifera plants harvested in the vicinity of river “Chenab”,
the sandy soil texture and favourable environment for
Moringa growth.
The variation observed in the Moringa seeds with
regards to oil content may ha ve be en due to either a
different genetic make up of the plants or more probably
due to environmental effects and variation in oil content
across countries mig ht be attributed to the
environmental and geological conditions in the regions
(Ibrahim et al., 1974).
Fatty acids composition of seeds: The fatty acids of
Moringa oleifera are pre sented in (Table 2). The major
saturated fatty acids were behenic (C22:0), arachidic
(C20:0), stearic (C18:0) and palmitic (C16:0) acids and
the main unsaturated fatty acid is oleic acid (C18:1w9)
with small amounts eicosenoic (C20:1w 9) and palmitoleic
acids (C16:1w7). For these co mpounds simila r results
have been found by Tsaknis et al. (1999), Lalas and
Tsaknis (2002a) and Anwar et al. (2006); while different
results have been reported by Abdulkarim et al. (2005).
Differences observed between results can be attributed to
geographical, soil composition, cultivation climate,
ripening stage, the harvesting time of the seeds and the
extraction method used. T he high percentag e of oleic acid
(monounsaturated fatty acid) in the oil makes it desirable
in terms of nutrition and h igh stability cooking and frying
oil (Abdulkarim et al., 2005; Anwar et al., 2006). A
higher intake of oleic acid is associated with decreased
risk of coronary heart disease caused by high cholesterol
level in blood (Corbett, 2003). The seeds oil can also be
used as a natural source of behenic acid, which has been
used as an oil structuring and solid ifying agent in
margarine, shortenin g, and foods containing sem i-solid
and solid fats, elimina ting the need to hydrogenate the oil
(Foidl et al., 2001). Moringa oleifera oil appears to be a
potentially valuable and might be an acceptable su bstitute
for high-oleic oils like olive and high-oleic sunflower
oils as our dietary fats and it also could be used
for various commodities of commercial attributes
(Anwar et al., 2005 ).
Protein, carbohydrates and fibre analysis: Analyses of
the Moringa oleifera seed residue revealed a high protein
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 3(1): 64-72, 2011
68
Table 3: Macro element’s of pulps o f P. biglobosa , A. digitata and seeds o f M. oleifera
Content
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis P. biglobosa A. digitata M. oleifera
Potassium (g/100 g) 441.36±0.04 786.5±0 .2 48 .2±0.2
Calcium (mg/100 g) 109.6 ±0 .6 309±1 78±1
Magnesium (mg/100 g) 13 9±0.2 155±2 261±1
Iron (mg/100 g) 103±1 14.97±0.06 12.77±0 .4
Phosphorus (mg/100 g) 11.81±0.21 775.0±2 525.0±2
Manganese (mg/100 g) 78.53±0.09 0.6±0 .1 95 .40±0 .4
Sodium (mg/100 g) 31.22±0.01 34.61±0 .3 25.01±0.01
Copper (mg/100 g) 25.2± 0.2 6.7 3±0.1 54.2±0.2
Zinc (mg/100 g) 3.01±0.01 1.54±0.02 300.47±0.07
Table 4: Total polyphenols, flavonoids, proan thocyanidines of pulps of P. biglobosa, A. digitata and seeds of M. oleifera
Content
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis P. biglobosa A. digitata M. oleifera
Total polyphenols (mg/100 g) 104.66 ± 2 121.53 ± 2.34 145.1 6 ± 0.1
Total flavonoids (mg/1000 g) 73.06 ± 0.02 111.73 ± 0.05 144.0 7 ± 0.2
Total proanthocyanidines (mg/1000 g) 64.38 ± 0.01 106.68 ± 0.06 14 0.4 9 ± 0.1
content 35.37±0.07%. This value was similar than those
from Malaysia with 38.3± 1.3 % (Abdulkarim et al., 2005)
and Pakistan where A nwar et al. (2006) have found a
value ranging from 29.6 to 31.3%.
Protein seeds of Moringa oleifera presented in
Table 1 is greater than those reported for important grain
legumes and cereals which contain, in g eneral, 18 to 25 g
/ 100 g of dry matter (Singh and S ingh, 1992) and 7 .8 to
22.8 g / 100 g (Bullock et al., 1989; Ranhotra et al., 1996)
of dry matter, respec tively. The crude pro tein analysis by
Nzikou et al. (2009) in C ongo Brazza ville by the method
of micro-Kjeldahl revealed a value of 37.6±1.07%. Thus,
these seeds are a potentially good source of proteins and
oil which should be exploited to determine if they are
commercially viable.
Carbohydrate is the low est macronutrient p resent into
seeds of Moringa oleifera (Table 1). Its value is about
9.17% while Nzikou et al. (2009) have found a value of
13.6% and Abdulkarim et al. (2005) reported a range
value of 16.5 to 17.8%. These authors have not appreciate
the main carbohydrates present into seeds so, it’s diffic ult
to compare o ur resu lts to those of oth ers authors.
Crude fiber of Moringa oleifera is about 4.7±0.2%.
Nzikou et al. (2009) have found in their study a crude
fibre value of 3.2±0.80% while A nwar et al. (2006) have
found a range value of 6.60 to 9% and Anwar and
Bhangar (2003) a value of 7.20% . Although crude fibre
does not contribute to nutrients or e nergy, it is a source of
dietary fiber. This value of fibre might be helpful in terms
of maintaining positive effects on intestine and colon
physiology, besides other hom eostatic and therap eutic
functions in h uman nutrition (M cPherson, 1982 ).
Minerals profiles of seeds: Minerals analysis of
Moringa oleifera seeds is presented in Tab le 3 and it
revealed presence of mos t of minerals. In their study
Nzikou et al. (2009) have found for calcium, magnesium,
potassium and sodium values of 83.75 ± 0.01 mg /100 g;
251±0.02 mg /100 g; 36.53±0.02 mg /100 g and
22.5±0.01 mg /100 g, respectively. These values are slight
higher than our results although the atomic absorption
spectrophotometer method has been u sed for minerals
analysis.
Determination of oxidative capacity of seeds: The
lowest content of tota l phenol was ob served with the
seeds of Moringa oleifera. Comparing these results with
literature, similar values were reported for Andean
chicuru (Stangea rh izanta) (Campos et al., 2009) and
mushroom (Pavel, 2009). However, values that differed
from our results were found by Gernah et al. (2007). The
variation may be due to differences in varieties, climate,
ripeness and extraction method.
The oxidative cap acity determ ined by researchers has
demonstra ted the strong ability of seeds oil of
Moringa oleifera (Anwar and Bhangar, 2003;
Abdulkarim et al., 2005; Anwar et al., 2006).
According to the results obtained (Table 4), seeds of
Moringa oleifera were found the most active one with an
antioxidant value of 99.74±0.01%. Samples with high
radical scavenging activity and/or antio xidant ability
generally have higher phenolic content with good
correlations (Chen et al., 2008). In this study, the
regression analyses indicated the correlations between
free radical scavenging activity, antioxidant activity and
phenolic content (r = 0.7 479). This result can be explained
by the high content of phenolic compounds especially
flavonoïds. Although none of res earcher at this time has
not conclude to this possibility proanthocyanidins content
in Moringa oleifera seeds may be its free radical
scavenging ability. Studies conduced at this time have
been interested by oxidative ab ility of seeds oil. For the
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 3(1): 64-72, 2011
69
Table 5: Mono an d disaccharides profile of pulps o f P. biglobosa, A. digitata and seeds of M. oleifera
Content
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis P. biglobosa A. digitata M. oleifera
Glucose (g/100 g DM) 13.55±0.05 6.96±0.03 2.57±0.05
Fructose (g/100 g DM) 18.51±0.01 4.03±0.02 0.03±0.01
Sucrose (g/100 g DM) 24.07±0.04 21.63±0.03 2.91±0.01
rest of the samples, there is no available literature
information about the content of phenolic compounds or
the antioxidant capacity but the results are generally in the
order of magnitudes reported for fruits.
Proximate analysis of pulps: Pulps of Adansonia
digitata and Parkia biglobosa are rath er rich in
carbohydrates than protein and lip id (Table 1). Ada nsonia
digitata fruit pulp carbohydrate content is lower
than those from Senegal (Becker, 1983), Malawi
(Saka et al., 1994) and from Tanzania and Transvaal
where value s where about 46 .6 g/100 g to 88 g/ 100 g of
dry weight (Murray et al., 2001). The presence of
carbohydrates was also mentioned by Soloviev et al.
(2004), who found monosac charides conten t of 7.2-11.2
g/100 g of dry weight in baoba b pulp, while Nour et al.
(1980) reported 23.2% of monosaccharides. According
to Murray et al. (2001) monosaccharides in baobab pulp
account for about 35.6 % of the total carbo hydrate content.
In their study in composition of pulp o f Parkia biglobosa,
Gernah et al. (2007) have found 67.30% of carbohydrates
while Millogo et al. (1996) reported a value of 60%. In
our study the carbohydra te content is about 67.66±0.05%
which is higher to others researcher’s results. How ever,
the presence of carbohydrate can explains the noticeable
sweet taste of the pulp, the sweetness may vary for
different types of pulp. Carbohydrates identification by
HPLC revealed that pulp of Adansonia digitata and
Parkia biglobosa contain ma inly saccharose and glucose
(Table 5). Carbohydrates content of these pulps are lower
than that from Ben in (69.98±2.8%) a nd N igeria
(67.30±1 .3%) as reported by Codjia et al. (2001) and
Gernah et al. (2007) respectively for pulp of Adansonia
digitata and Parkia biglobosa, respectively. Differences
between results can be explained by geographical
difference in soil composition characterized by abundant
rains and vegetation.
Apart from imparting sweetness, carbohydrates act as
a preservative when present in food in high concentration
by making water unavailable to microorganisms. It is also
a ready source of energy since it is more easily digested
and absorbed than other complex carbohydrates. It is also
an indication of the sensory appeal of the fruit pulp.
The reported crude lipid content (Table 1) of
Adanson ia digitata and Parkia biglobosa pulps are
1.61±0.01 and 1.72±0.02%, respectively. These values are
higher than Nour et al. (1980) results (0.21 g/100 g) and
lower to Glew et al. (1997) results (15.5 g/100 g),
Sena et al. (1998) results (12.7 g/100 g) and
Gernah et al. (2007). The highest values without fatty acid
analyses, 4.3 and 4.1 g/100 g, respectively were reported
by Obizoba and Amaechi (1993) and Saka and
Msonthi (1994) who used dilute acid hydrolysis and
hexane extraction by the Soxhlet system. The latter
method was also used by L ockett et al. (2000) who found
a very low fat content of 0.41 g/ 100 g. So, variation
observed may have an origin other than the method used.
In our study, most fatty acids in pulps do not reach
detectable levels despite th e use of identical methods by
the researche rs.
The protein conte nt of these pulps were very low
however Sena et al. (1998) and Gernah et al. (2007)
reported higher values of 15.3 g /100 g and 6.56% for
protein in pulps of Adanson ia digitata and Parkia
biglobosa, respectively using analytical methods similar
to those app lied by the others rese archers.
Minerals profiles of pulps: The mineral analysis of
samples is presented in Table 3. Minerals content of
pulps are similar to those of Sena et al. (1998) and
Osman et al. (2004). The methods used by these different
researchers were generally atomic absorption methods and
a flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. Comparison
between all samples sh owed that Parkia biglobosa and
Adanson ia digitata have the highest content on all
minerals without zinc. These minerals play an important
physiological role (structural and catalytic), and can help
to prevent micronutrients deficiencies. Comparison by
student t-test has not revealed a significant difference
between samples from different regions when considering
minerals con tent and proxima l composition of pu lp.
Phenolic compounds of pulps: Total phenolics,
flavonoids, and proanthocyanidins in pulps of Adansonia
digitata and Parkia biglobosa extracts are reported in
Table 4 The p ulp of Adansonia digitata has the highest
content of total phenolics, followed by the pulp of Parkia
biglobosa. The proanthocyanidin content varied from
64.38±0.01 mg to 104.49±2.0 mg in the following
decreasing order: P. biglobosa < A. digitata < M. oleifera.
Determination of oxidative capacity of pulps: As
shown in Table 6, all samples showed appreciable free
radical scavenging activities. Adansonia digita ta had the
strongest radical scavenging activity, allowed by
Parkia biglobosa. The antioxidant activities found by
Curr. Res. J. Biol. Sci., 3(1): 64-72, 2011
70
Table 6: Antioxidative capacity and radical scavenging o f pulps of
P. biglobosa, A. digitata and seeds of M. oleifera
Test system
-------------------------------------------------------------
#-carotene /linole ic acid
Samples MBTH (mg/100 g) inhibition (%)
P. biglobosa 508.34±0.05 79.40±0.02
A. digitata 948.22±0.02 94.98±0.07
M. oleifera 708.17±0.06 99.74±0.01**
Ascorb ic ac id ---- 99.98±0.01
**: p = 0.01
Meda et al. (2008) were (900 mg /100 g) for Adansonia.
digitata and (500 mg /100 g) for Parkia biglobosa. The
probably high conten t of vitam in C in pulp of Adansonia
digitata can explain its free radical scavenging capacity.
The total antioxidant activity of samples was
measured as % inhibition of lipid peroxidation in the
$-carotene-lino leic acid system, and w as compared w ith
the most commonly used standard antioxida nts BHT and
quercetin. The activity of Adansonia digitata
(94.98±0.07%) was higher than that of Parkia biglobosa
(79.42±0.02% ). Adansonia digitata with MBTH radical
scavenging activity was correlated with content of total
phenolics (r = 0.8176 ).
Use of these three wild plants products during food
fortification in Burkina Faso: Seeds of Moringa oleifera
and pulps of Parkia biglobosa and Andosonia digita ta
with nutritional composition describe above can be used
to fortify local cereals (millet or maize) with others
ingredients or to produce a complem entary food with
nutritional quality (energy density, macronutrients and
micronutrients requirements) locally available at a low
cost for the households. T he pro duction of this food will
contribute to recent concept developed by Zotor and
Amuna (2008) by food multimix (FMM) which is an
innovative approach using traditional methods of food
preparation and locally available, cheap and affordable
staples (fruits, pulses, vegetables and legumes) that makes
better use of traditional food sources as a tool for meeting
commun ity nutrition al needs (Zotor and Amun a, 200 8).
CONCLUSION
The nutritional analysis of pulps of Parkia biglobosa,
Adanson ia digitata and seeds of Moringa oleifera inform
one only of their potential values to those populations
who rely upon them as staples or supplements to their
diet. The next step is to assess the bioavailability of the
essential nutrients in these pulps and seeds. These studies
will focus on the digestibility of the proteins and lipids of
these plants, total characterization of phenolic compounds
and on the possible presence of antinutrients, such as
metal chelators (e.g., phytates, oxalates) and protease
inhibitors.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors acknow ledge highly Dr O bam e Louis
Clement (Libreville, Gabon) for his technical support and
the following institutions for providing laboratory
facilities for this work: Laboratoire National de Santé
Publique (LNSP) and Bureau National d es Sols
(BUNASOL) (Burkina Faso). The financial support from
ISP/IPICS (Sweden), the Agence Universitaire de la
Francop honie (AUF) and the Union Economique et
Monétaire Ouest Africaine (UEMOA) was appreciated.
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