Evaluation of nutrients and anti- nutrient properties of traditionally prepared treculia africana decne (bread fruit diet and toasted seeds)

Abstract

Protein deficiency affects more than 170 million preschool children and nursing mothers in developing countries creating a need for a strategy to improve the nutritional status of their diet through supplementation with plant proteins. The nutritional value of Treculia africana (African Breadfruit) has been extensively studied under laboratory conditions. Although the Breadfruit tree grows wildly in some West and Central African countries, and its seeds eaten in various forms by the populace, there has not been an attempt to evaluate its nutritive value as prepared at the home level. The goal of this study was, therefore, to evaluate the nutritive value of the seeds as indigenously prepared by the general populace in order to determine the suitability of its use as a good complementary diet. The raw seeds purchased in the Ikenne local government area (LGA) of Ogun State, Nigeria were subjected to cooking and toasting methods (using firewood) as practiced in the area. A proximate analysis was performed on the three samples (Raw, Cooked and Toasted) in order to evaluate the composition and some anti-nutritional factors of the Breadfruit seeds. Results showed that the cooked and toasted samples had better nutritive values as compared with the raw seeds; the mean % protein content of the raw, cooked and toasted samples were 16.32±0.09, 18.25 ±0.00 and 17.22±0.04, respectively. Ash content was 1.36±0.057, 1.86±0.042 and 1.83±0.007, respectively, fat was 10.98±0.071, 11.50±0.134 and 13.74±0.233, respectively and crude fiber was 1.25±0.007, 2.13±0.014 and 2.39±0.064, respectively. The tannin level was higher in cooked and toasted seeds than in the raw seeds but was not in toxic amounts (1.19gm, 3.50 and 2.32 in the raw, cooked and toasted seeds, respectively). Phytate levels were generally lower in the cooked and toasted seeds; at 2.85%, 1.99%, and 2.24% for raw, cooked and toasted seeds, respectively. This study showed that the two major modes of preparation of the African Breadfruit seeds retained high levels of nutrients with lower levels of anti-nutrients. The resulting meal/snack will be useful as a good complementary diet for the African child, especially in areas where it grows wildly as it will provide a more viable alternative to the currently known and consumed weaning diets among the rural population. Toasting the African Breadfruit seed will be particularly helpful for working mothers who require ready to eat food as the moisture content was lowered (and by extension the shelf life increased) by this method of processing.

The yield and purity of DNA extracts from seeds of eight six accessions of Treculia species using Zymo Research mini-prep DNA extraction kit

“…Treculia africana is an underutilized plant commonly known as African breadfruit in English and has some African names like Ukwa (Igbo), Muzinda (Luganda), Mwaya (Swahili), and Brebretim (Wolof) (Okoronkwo et al, 2020). It is a nutritious local edible fruit (Runsewe-Abiodun et al, 2018) and its seeds, leaves, timber, roots and bark are of importance. It is presently included as a threatened species of Southern Nigeria (Ojimelukwe et al, 2021) and there has been a reduction in the number of trees of African breadfruit which has turned out to be an ecological concern (Nuga and Ofodile, 2010).…”

Carbohydrate content and Glycaemic indices of Pentaclethra macrophylla, Telfairia occidentalis and Treculia africanum

“…African oil bean seeds contain up to 44 percent protein, with all twenty essential amino acids (Runsewe-Abiodun et al, 2018). The seeds also contain essential fatty acids within the seed oil, as well as many minerals, particularly magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, phosphorus and calcium, and trace amounts of vitamins (Kayode et al, 2009).…”

Functional Bioactivities of Soluble Seed Proteins from Two Leguminous Seeds

“…In developing countries, children and nursing mothers are also affected to a certain extent, and the Food and Agriculture Organization projected that approximately 822 million people might be affected by this menace globally because of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic ( FAO, 2020 ). This finding indicates the need for alternative sources, such as plant proteins that are ubiquitous and affordable, although the demand for limited food to mitigate malnutrition and hunger is increasing ( Runsewe-Abiodun et al, 2018 ; Bolarinwa et al, 2019 ; Jin et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, plant-based proteins and peptides can cause diverse health-promoting bioactivities in humans and animals, thereby enhancing research efforts into their isolation and fractionation ( Ajibola et al, 2016 ; Iyenagbe et al, 2017 ; Ulloa et al, 2017 ; Aderinola et al, 2018 ).…”