Chemical Analysis and Toxicological Assessment of Sesamum indicum Seed Cake on Albino Rats

Abstract

Sesamum indicum L. seed cake was analysed for proximate composition, mineral element content and phytochemical properties after which toxicological assessment was carried out on it. The result of the proximate composition showed that the seed cake contained 8.26±0.04% moisture, 28.96±0.12% crude protein, 9.58±0.03% ash, 13.90±0.04% crude fibre, 23.28±0.02% fat and 29.91% carbohydrate. The cake was found to be a good source of mineral elements. Calcium (1.5%) was the highest, followed by magnesium (0.4%), phosphorus (0.06%), iron (0.04%) and lead (0.02%). The qualitative phytochemical screening carried out on the seed cake revealed the presence of some secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, phenol, carbohydrate and steroids. This suggests its usefulness in drug manufacture. A six-week feeding trial was conducted to assess the effect of sesamum seed cake as dietary replacement of groundnut cake in the diet of albino rats. All diets were formulated to meet the entire nutrient requirement for young albino rats (Rattus norvegius). The performance of the rats fed with sesamum seed cake meal-based diet (test) was compared to rats fed a groundnut cake meal-based diet (control). There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the feed intake, specific growth rate and weight gain between rats fed with test diets and those fed with control diet but there were no significant differences (P>0.05) in the packed volume cell (PVC), haemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil, lymphocyte and monocyte between the rats in the test and control groups. The seed cake might be suitable for edible purposes.