Oil characterization, amino acid and vitamin A and C composition of Cucurbita maxima seed obtained from Sakpe, Niger state, Nigeria.

Abstract

Oil characterization, amino acid and vitamin A and C composition of Cucurbita maxima seeds was carried out using standard analytical methods. The amino acid profile was determined using Techno sequential multi sample amino acid analyser and except phenylalanine which was most abundant in the sample had the highest contents of all the amino acids analysed. The fatty acid profile was carried out using GC/MS and the results revealed that 9, 12-Octadecadienoic acid was the most abundant fatty acid in the oil. Also the physicochemical composition reveals that the sample was rich in saponification value (243.70±0.02), iodine value (105.77±0.20), free fatty acid content (5.85±0.02) and low peroxide value (2.43±0.15) as well as acid value (11.70±0.05). Thus, C. maxima seed can be use for both plant and animal food.