A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE LIPID PROTEIN AND MINERAL CONTENTS OF AFRICAN PEAR (Dacryodes edulis) SEED AND AVOCADO PEAR SEEDS

Abstract

The lipid, protein and mineral contents of African pear (Dacryodes edulis) seeds and avocado pear seeds were studied. The soaking method was applied to extract the lipid using hexane as solvent, the ashing method for extracting minerals, the kjeldahl method for protein content and the Bray No 1 method for phosphorus content. Results obtained show that for the African pear seed, the contents were: lipid (12.45%), protein (1.24%), sodium (0.87mg/100g), calcium (0.13mg/100g), iron (0.80mg/100g), potassium (1.66mg/100g), zinc (0.31mg/100g), magnesium (0.32mg/100g), phosphorus (10.34mg/100g) and ash (0.20%). For avocado pear seed: lipid (3.15%), protein (2.22%), sodium (1.54mg/100g), calcium (0.02mg/100g), iron (0.48mg/100g), potassium (1.10mg/100g), zinc (0.18mg/100g), magnesium (0.15mg/100g), phosphorus (7.70mg/100g) and ash (0.25%). Comparison shows that except for protein, sodium and ash contents, African pear seed has higher parameters of all studied than avocado pear seed.