Overall Nutritional and Sensory Profile of Different Species of Australian Wattle Seeds (Acacia spp.): Potential Food Sources in the Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Abstract

Wattle seed (Acacia spp.) is a well-known staple food within indigenous communities in Australia. A detailed investigation of the overall nutritional and sensory profile of four abundant and underutilized Acacia species—A. coriacea, A. cowleana, A. retinodes and A. sophorae—were performed. Additionally, molecular weight of protein extracts from the wattle seeds (WS) was determined. The seeds are rich in protein (23–27%) and dietary fibre (33–41%). Relatively high fat content was found in A. cowleana (19.3%), A. sophorae (14.8%) and A. retinodes (16.4%) with oleic acid being the predominant fatty acid. The seeds contained high amounts of essential amino acids (histidine, lysine, valine, isoleucine and leucine). A. coriacea is rich in iron (43 mg/kg), potassium (10 g/kg) and magnesium (1.7 g/kg). Pentose (xylose/arabinose), glucose, galactose and galacturonic acids were the major sugars found in the four species. Raw seeds from A. sophorae, A. retinodes and A. coriacea have the highest protein molecular weight, between 50–90 kDa, 80 kDa and 50–55 kDa, respectively. There was variation in the sensory profile of the WS species. This study showed that the four WS species have good nutritional value and could be included in human diet or used in food formulations.

Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy as a Rapid Tool to Qualitatively Predict the Effects of Species, Regions and Roasting on the Nutritional Composition of Australian Acacia Seed Species

“…In addition, roasting may result in the formation of new compounds or the release of bound compounds such as phenolic and non-phenolic compounds with potential antioxidant properties [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Moreover, previous studies have demonstrated that a unique aroma and flavor was perceived in five AS species after roasting [ 8 ] and the aroma and flavor compounds may have been formed or released during roasting. However, the impact of roasting (180 °C) on AS may vary among the AS species due to the differences in their sizes and dimension.…”

“…AS is a good source of protein, dietary fibre, and minerals such as potassium, sodium, and iron [ 7 ]. The seeds are not consumed raw but are usually roasted mainly to develop a unique nutty flavour and aroma depending on the species and roasting conditions [ 7 , 8 ]. Moreover, roasting is carried out to reduce the anti-nutrients and protease inhibitors, particularly trypsin inhibitors in AS [ 9 ].…”

Insights for the Valorization of Biomass from Portuguese Invasive Acacia spp. in a Biorefinery Perspective

“…The nutritional value of A. retinodes seeds was also investigated, having being found with a different composition profile when compared with A. saligna seeds. Shelat et al [117] observed A. retinode seeds to contain a high protein (28%) and dietary fibre (34%) content and 16% of oil. The oil is characterized by 30% of saturated fatty acids, 53% of monounsaturated fatty acids and 18% of polyunsaturated fatty acids, with palmitic acid (18%), oleic acid (50%) and linoleic acid (16%) the most representative fatty acids [117].…”

Correction: Shelat, K.J.; et al. Overall Nutritional and Sensory Profile of Different Species of Australian Wattle Seeds (Acacia spp.): Potential Food Sources in the Arid and Semi-Arid Regions. Foods 2019, 8, 482

“…The authors wish to make the following correction to the paper [ 1 ]: The title of Table 3 “Amino acid (g/100 g dry weight) profile of four different species of wattle seeds” should be changed to “Amino acid (mol% dry weight) profile of four different species of wattle seeds”. The title of first column in Table 5 “Sugar composition (%)” should be changed to “Sugar composition (mg/g biomass)”.…”