A comparative study on anthocyanin, saponin, and oil profiles of black and red seed coat peanut (Arachis hypogacea) grown in China

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to investigate the chemical profiles among red and black peanut cultivars grown in China. Boiled peanut seeds lost colour values due to the loss of water-soluble pigments into the boiling water. The oil contents of eight out of ten cultivars are over 49 g/100g on dry weight basis. Peanut seed coat had much higher saponin compared with peanut cotyledon and the boiled peanut. Zhonghua No. 16 peanut had the highest saponin content in both seed coat (381.5 mg/g) and cotyledon (10.6 mg/g). Anthocyanin was comparatively higher in the black peanuts. It was also observed that the anthocyanin content had a close relationship with the colour of the peanuts. Cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside was one of the main anthocyanins present in black peanut cultivars. Seed coat was found to be the most nutritive part in the entire peanut kernel. It could also be considered as a potential source of nutraceuticals.