Canarium schweinfurthii Engl.: Chemical composition of the fruit pulp

Abstract

Canarium schweinfurthii Engl. (Burseraceae) is a wild treefound mostly in Africa, which produces fruit similar to olives and which is barely used. On a dry matter basis, the fruit pulp from C6te d'Ivoire {the Ivory Coast} was found to contain 5.6% protein, 30-50% fat, 8.2% starch, 11.8% cellulose and 8.3% ash (the highest mineral elements being potassium, 1.2% and calcium, 0.4%}. The melting and solidification points of the extracted fat (44.5°C and 35.2°C, respectively) are higher than those of all the commercial and other Canarium-spedes oils. This oil shows low iodine, peroxide and carotene values (36, 17 meq-g and 2 mg, respectively}. The fatty acid composition of the oil revealed a high content of oleic (89.4%) or stearic 167.7-84.0%) acids in the liquid, semi-solid and solid forms of the oil. Consequently, the content of these two acids is much higher in Canarium schweinfurthii oil than in any other vegetable oil. The three forms {liquid, semi-liquid and solid} of the oil depend on the maturity of the fruit and these stages will be investigated further in future work.

Nutritional composition and antioxidant properties of Canarium odontophyllum Miq. (dabai) fruits

“…Ash content of other Canarium fruits such as those of C. ovatum and C. schweinfurthii (2.48 g and 3.64 g/100 g FW, respectively) have been reported by Coronel (1996) and Georges et al (1992). Voon and Kueh (1999) reported very much higher potassium (810 mg/100 g FW) and calcium (200 mg/100 g FW) contents of dabai fruits as compare to the present study (5.02 AE 0.13 to 6.93 AE 1.71 mg potassium and 28.47 AE 1.56 to 43.72 AE 22.72 mg calcium/100 g FW).…”

“…Canarium fruits are always rich in plant oils, lipid content as reported in Canarium ovatum and Canarium schweinfurthii were 9.07 g and 17.56 g/100 g FW (Coronel, 1996;Georges et al, 1992). Canarium fruits are also good sources of protein.…”

“…Voon and Kueh (1999) reported the protein content of dabai fruits to be 3.8 g/100 g FW which is in good agreement with the present study (3.45 AE 0.64 to 5.20 AE 0.87 g/ 100 g FW). The protein content as reported in C. ovatum and C. schweinfurthii were 2.16 g and 2.46 g/100 g FW (Coronel, 1996;Georges et al, 1992).…”

Evolution of the pili nut genus (Canarium L., Burseraceae) and its cultivated species

“…(2) Evans (1999); (3) Georges et al (1992); (4) Griffiths (1993); (5) Isaacs (1987); (6) Leenhouts (1959); (7) Menninger (1977); (8) Verheij and Coronel (1991); (9) Walter and Sam (2002); (10) Yen (1974); (11) Yen (1996) comprised the major evolutionary lineages within the genus. These systematic hypotheses remain untested, although several species were sampled in genus-level phylogenies of Burseraceae (5 spp.…”

“…The oil is used in cooking, for illumination, or for light industrial purposes. The seeds also contain a moderate amount of dietary protein (8-16% dry weight), which is also comparable to Brazil nuts (Georges et al 1992;Coronel 1996). People are reported to value Canarium fruit as a crop because it increases their food security (Walter and Sam 2002) and adds needed fat and protein to diets that often lack both.…”