Amino Acid Profile of Heat-processed Canarium schweinfurthii Pulp

Amino acid composition of a plant food is an indicator of its protein quality. This could be altered by the processing method. Processed fruit of Canarium schweinfurthii, a Bursereceae, is common traditional snacking item in Nigeria. The pulp of raw and macerated samples of C. schweinfurthii were dried, ground into powders and analyzed for protein and amino acid contents using standard methods. The pulp of raw and macerated samples contain all the amino acids found naturally in plant protein. Glu (6.72-9.03g/100g protein), a non-essential amino acid was the most abundant amino acid followed by Leu (5.35-6.21g/100g protein) an essential amino acid. The concentrations of Glu, Gly, Ala, Cys, and Tyr and those of all the essential amino acids were increased by macerating the sample for 15 to 45min while others decreased. Peak values (on g/100g protein basis) were obtained for Lys(3.10), Thr(3.00), Val(3.66), Met(0.89), Ile(3.08), Phe(3.30), Glu(9.03), Gly(3.14), Ala(2.86), Cys(0.79), and Tyr(2.74) at 30min maceration (CS30). The sample processed to accepted eaten tenderness (CS30) on g/100g protein basis also recorded the highest values for the protein quality parameters: total amino acid(56.05), total essential amino acid with His(28.5), total non-essential amino acid(27.8), total neutral amino acid(33.4), total acidic amino acid(14.4), total sulphur amino acid(1.68) and total aromatic amino acid(6.04). Based on whole hen’s egg and 1957 FAO provisional amino acid patterns, Met (0.57-0.89g/100g protein) scored lowest to become the first limiting amino acid in the sample. The plant food has potential as a source of high quality dietary protein.