Proximate, Physico-Chemical, Nutritive and Anti-Nutritive Assessment of Raw, Boiled and Roasted Kernels of Anacardium occidentale L. var. W210

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is an evergreen perennial tree, originated from Brazil and now widely grown in the tropics. Cashew is a wonder tree crop, where almost all parts of the tree ranging from roots to apples and nuts are used in various fields. The aim of the present investigation is to analyse the kernels (nuts), var. W210 for understanding its proximate, physico-chemical, nutritive and anti-nutritive aspects in three forms, viz., raw, roasted and boiled state. The roasted samples are comparatively rich in crude carbohydrate (43.26±0.86 g), crude protein (22.80±1.22 g) and calorific value (498.32±1.64 k. cal). Highest lipid and fibre content is reported in raw sample as (33.02±0.94 g) and (8.56±1.62 g) respectively. Moisture content (16.65 ±1.88 g) is the highest to be reported in boiled sample. From the results, it has been clearly understood, that the minerals except iron, are rich in roasted than the other two forms. Roasted sample showed the maximum value of nitrogen (3.66±0.47 g), potassium of about 676.3±0.86 mg, calcium of 75.5±0.44 mg, magnesium of 355.4±0.50 mg and phosphorus of 398.6±1.78 mg/100 g. The iron content was high in raw sample of about 7.73±0.77 mg comparatively. The physico-chemical analysis shows that the total ash content was high in roasted sample which is recorded as 3.05±0.82 g. Other parameters such as acid insoluble ash, water-soluble extractive, alcohol soluble extractive values are found higher in roasted state. The results of anti-nutrient analysis gives a transparent idea that the raw sample has high content of phytic acid (0.445±0.004%), tannins (0.787±0.005%), saponins (0.101±0.003%) and oxalate (0.099±0.004%). The study addresses the nutritional and the anti-nutritional aspect of A. occidentale in its three forms and from the results obtained, we can conclude that the roasted form of seeds are found to be nutritionally superior for consumption as foods for humans.