Nutritive Components in the Terminalia catappa L. (Combretaceae) Almonds Cultivated in Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

Aims: To determine the contents of the main nutrients in almonds derived from fruits of Terminalia catappa L. (Combretaceae) cultivated in Côte d'Ivoire. Study Design: The almonds of T. catappa were removed from the dried mature fruits harvested in various regions of Côte d’Ivoire. A pool of almonds was drawn at Laboratory and the nutritive components were assessed. Place and Duration of Study: Laboratory of Biochemistry and Food Sciences, Biochemistry department of Biosciences Unit, Félix Houphouet-Boigny University, between October and December 2015. Methodology: The dry fruits of T. catappa were opened using nutcracker. The extracted        almonds were oven dried, crushed, put into polyethylene bags, and then kept into a desiccator till analyses. The nutritive traits assessed were moisture, ash, proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, lipids and fat properties including fatty acid profile. The caloric energy value of almonds was also estimated. Results: The results showed an extraction yield of 1.95%, a moisture percent of 3.58% and 5.48% ash content. The samples also revealed means of 5.12% crude fibers, 31.21% proteins, 4.97% carbohydrates, and 54.76% lipids. The oil properties resulted in mean trends of 1.34%, 6.27 g mEq O2/kg, 87 g/100 g, 122.21 mg KOH/g, and 1.46 for respective acid, peroxide, iodine, saponification, and refractive values. The fatty acids profile showed more unsaturated fatty acids (65.85%) against 34.83% saturated fatty acids. The major unsaturated fatty acid molecules were oleic and linoleic acids with respective rates of 31.20% and 33.29%, whereas the main saturated fatty acids were palmitic acid (30.12%) and stearic acid (4.52%). Conclusion: The almonds of T. catappa display highly good nutritive properties and can be considered as bio-functional food.