Amino acid profile and micronutrient composition of the African pear (Dacryodes edulis) pulp

Abstract

The proximate composition, pH, titrable acidity, amino acid profile, mineral and water-soluble vitamins content of African pear pulp were analyzed. The moisture content was 13.79% which resulted to a high dry matter content of 86.79%. This suggests a nutrient dense pulp and a quicker dehydration rate with low energy input. A high oil content (32.56%) was also observed which will give a high yield of edible oil during oil extraction process. Some of the minerals found were sodium (3756.86 mg/kg), iron (15.33 mg/kg), manganese (89.72 mg/kg), copper (63.69 mg/kg) among others. Ascorbic acid (164.84 mg/100 g), niacin (17.11 mg/100 g) and pyridoxine (33.9 mg/100 g) was found. Among the essential amino acids, leucine (7.49 g/100 g protein) was highest while methionine (0.81 g/100 g protein) was lowest. Tryptophan was not detected in any of the samples. The nonessential amino acids were also found in varying amounts. Glutamic acid was highest (13.24 g/100 g protein) while histidine was lowest (2.19 g/100 g protein). The results show that African pear pulp can be a useful raw material for edible oil production while its cake can be useful in food and feed supplementation. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2011.