NUTRIENT AND CHEMICAL EVALUATION OF RAW SEEDS OF XYLIA-XYLOCARPA - AN UNDERUTILIZED FOOD SOURCE

Some nutritional and antinutritional characteristics of Xylia xylocarpa seeds were studied. The mature seeds contained 29.5% crude protein, 14.78% crude fat, 8.02% crude fibre, 5.11% ash and 42.6% crude carbohydrates. The seeds appeared to be a good source of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. The major components of the total seed proteins were globulins and albumins; the latter constituting 32% of the total extractable proteins. The seed lipids contained a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids with linoleic acid (51.3%) as the predominant fatty acid. The total seed proteins were rich in most of the essential amino acids and they were deficient only in cystine and methionine. The albumins contained higher levels of isoleucine, cystine, methionine, tryptophan and threonine and lower levels of leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, tyrosine and valine compared to the globulins. Antinutritional substances such as total free phenols, tannins, phytic acid, hydrogen cyanide, trypsin inhibitor and phytohaemagglutinating activities were also analysed besides in-vitro protein digestibility.