Chemical composition and nutritional characteristics of safou of Cameroon, the Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo-Kinshasa and Gabon

Abstract

325 fruits harvested from 33 trees located in different countries in Central Africa : Cameroon, the Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo-Kinshasa and Gabon, have been submitted to a morphological and physico-chemical study in view of their characterization and evaluation of their nutritional interest. They are fruits of medium size about 6-7 cm long by 3-4 cm wide and weighing 40-50 g for a pulp thickness of about 0.6 cm. The variation range of moisture, oil, protein and ashes content is respectively : 55-60%, 10-14%, 3-4%. All these mineral elements: P, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, are contained with contents worthy of interest. The major constituents of oil extracted from the pulp are palmitic (41-48%), oleic (20-27%) and linoleic (21-29%) acids. The content in alpha linoleic acid in all cases is less than 2%. The ratio ((% of polyunsaturated fatty acids) /(% of saturated fatty acids)) is about 0.6 whereas that of (% of linoleic acid) / (% of saturated fatty acids) varies for different countries from 15 to 22. The results of this work reinforce the nutritional interest of safou pulp.