Nutrient, Antinutrient and Sugar Contents in Desert Date (Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del) Seed and Pulp

This study focuses on the nutrient, antinutrient and sugar contents of (desert date) Balanites aegyptiaca seed and pulp collected from north–east Nigeria. Proximate, mineral, amino acid, antinutrient and sugar compositions were determined using standard analytical techniques. The calculated parameters were metabolized energy, mineral safety index (MSI), mineral ratios of some minerals, isoelectric point (pI), predicted protein efficiency ratio (P–PER) and leucine to isoleucine ratio. The results showed that seed was very rich in crude protein and crude fat with values of 30.80 and 45.53 g/100 g dry weight basis, respectively whereas, the pulp had values of 8.36 and 5.10 g/100 g dw for the same parameters. The following were observed as the most concentrated minerals: P (312.72 and 138.62 mg/100 g dw), Na (58.49 and 47.65 mg/100 g dw) and Ca (48.57 and 40.26 mg/100 g dw) for seed and pulp, respectively. Other minerals analyzed in the samples had values less than 15.0 mg/100 g. No mineral had deleterious value in the MSI. Amino acid analysis of seed and pulp showed concentrations of TAA (63.21 and 42.62 g/100 g cude protein), TEAA (26.19 and 21.88 g/100 g cp) and TNEAA ((26.19 and 21.88 g/100 g cp). Leucine (7.30 g/100 g cp) and Arg (3.69 g/100 g cp) were the most concentrated essential amino acids in seed and pulp. The phytate, tannin and oxalate concentrations were higher in seed compared with that of the pulp. All the sugars were of low levels. Generally, Balanites aegyptiaca seed and pulp contained nutritive minerals and sufficient proportions of EAAs however, dietary formula based on samples of the seed and pulp will require EAAs supplementation except in Leu, TSAA and Phe + Tyr of the seed. Likewise, the high contents of some of the antinutrients may pose a nutritional problem in their consumption.