NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF PEANUT PROTEIN

The proximate chemical composition and the amino acid content of some Nigerian oil seeds

Seven samples of some Nigerian oil seeds have been studied with respect to their proximate composition, calcium and phosphorus contents as well as the amino acid composition which was determined by column chromatography. Three of the groundnut samples were processed in the laboratory. These were then compared with a commercial groundnut cake. The African oil bean seeds, the conophor nuts and the soya beans obtained locally were processed in the laboratory.

The chemical composition of the oil seed meals were with few exceptions similar to those reported in the literature. The tryptophan and sulphur amino acid contents of the conophor nuts were extremely high compared with the other oil seeds in which the sulphur amino acids were the limiting ones. The lysine contents of the African oil beans and the conophor nuts were exceptionally high compared with others. Glutamic acid followed by aspartic acid and arginine levels were generally high in each of the oil seeds. The implication of these findings are fully discussed.