Nutritional composition and functional properties of full-fat and defatted Gbafilo (Chrysobalamus Icaco) seed flours

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the quality of the full-fat and defatted Gbafilo seeds, cultivated in Nigeria. The seeds were cleaned, milled and sieved to obtain the full-fat flour, followed by defatting using n- hexane for 8 h to obtain the defatted flour. The flours prepared from the seeds were analyzed for their nutritional composition, anti-nutritional factors, amino acid profile, and functional properties using standard methods, and the data obtained were subjected to T- test analysis. Proximate composition showed that protein and crude fat were 5.40g/100 g and 13.50 g/100 g for the full-fat flour, and 38.70 g/100 g and 7.90 g/100 g for the defatted flour respectively. The Phytate: calcium, Phytate: zinc, and Phytate: iron molar ratios of the Gbafilo flours were lower than the critical values. The branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) and Arginine/ Lysine (Arg/Lys) ratios were 11.19 and 1.94 for full-fat and 16.19 and 1.28 for the defatted flour respectively. Defatting increased the crude protein, total ash, crude fibre, and carbohydrate contents, and enhanced the branched-chain amino acids, sulphur amino acids, and aromatic amino acids; and some of the functional properties. The flour from the seeds may be a potential source of valuable materials for edible and other industrial applications.