Amino acid profile of raw and locally processed seeds of Prosopis africana and Ricinus communis: potential antidotes to protein malnutrition | Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer Open Menu Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Home Food Science Publisher Functional Food Center Current Archives About About the Journal Aims and Scope Contact Editing Services Editorial Team Express Peer Review Graphical Abstract Journal Insights Privacy Statement Submissions Announcements Search Search Register Login Home / Archives / Vol. 2 No. 4 (2012): April 2012 / Research Articles Amino acid profile of raw and locally processed seeds of Prosopis africana and Ricinus communis: potential antidotes to protein malnutrition Authors Chidi U. Igwe Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Owerri Okey A. Ojiako Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Owerri Ken C. Anugweje Department of Health Services, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt Linus A. Nwaogu Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Owerri Cosmas O. Ujowundu Department of Biochemistry, Federal University of Technology, Owerri DOI: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v2i4.95 Abstract Background: Increasing incidence of malnutrition occasioned by high incidence of hunger, worsening food situation in the world, insufficient availability and high cost of animal protein sources, has necessitated extensive research into and use of alternative plant protein sources especially underexploited leguminous seeds. Methods: Flours from raw, boiled and fermented seeds of Prosopis africana and Ricinus communis were evaluated for crude protein and amino acid (AA) profiles, and their protein qualities determined. Results: Fermentation improved the protein contents of raw seeds of P. africana and R. communis by 18.70% and 3.95% respectively. In the raw and fermented P. africana seeds, glutamate at 132.60 ± 1.30 and 182.70 ± 3.02 mg/g crude protein (mg/gcp) was the most abundant amino acid (AA), while leucine (62.80 ± 0.60 and 79.50 ± 2.01 mg/gcp) was the most concentrated essential amino acid (EAA). Aspartate (151.90 ± 2.01 and 170.10 ± 2.00 mg/gcp) and arginine (72.80 ± 2.01 and 78.60 ± 2.00 mg/gcp) were the most concentrated and abundant non-essential amino acid (NEAA) and EAA in the raw and fermented samples of R. communis respectively. The total AA concentrations (mg/gcp) of raw and fermented P. africana were 733.00 and 962.60 respectively, while those of R. communis were 823.50 and 894.10 respectively. The total EAA contents (mg/gcp) for P. africana were 311.00 (raw) and 404.50 (fermented), and for R. communis; 401.10 (raw) and 430.30 (fermented). Threonine was the limiting EAA in raw and fermented P. africana, whereas lysine was the limiting EAA in R. communis raw sample. Fermentation significantly (p<0.05) increased the individual AA compositions of P. africana and R. communis by 94% and 53% respectively, while boiling reduced these parameters significantly (p<0.05) by 47% and 82% respectively. Conclusion: P. africana and R. communis seeds are potentially important plant sources of protein and essential amino acids, and so could be of great importance in combating malnutrition and food security problems generally. Key words: Amino acid score; condiments; crude protein; fermentation; legumes; nutrition Downloads [Abstract] [Full Article] Published 2012-04-22 Issue Vol. 2 No. 4 (2012): April 2012 Section Research Articles License Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives   Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com