Phenolic compounds and safety of improved and local peanut varieties grown in Burkina Faso

Peanuts are a tropical crop widely cultivated throughout the world. The seed is the most important part of the peanut. Burkina Faso is the 16th largest producer of peanuts in the world. Despite its economic and nutritional potential, peanut growers are subject to aflatoxin contamination. This present study aimed to evaluate the phenolic compounds and safety of various improved and local peanut varieties. The aflatoxin contents of the different varieties were determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). A UV-visible spectrophotometer quantified the phenolic contents. For all samples, results showed that water content varied from 3.85 ± 0.08 to 4.21 ± 0.06%, and pH from 6.11 ± 0.02 to 6.48 ± 0.02. Toxicological results showed total aflatoxin levels ranging from 0.04 to 1.86 µg/kg. Polyphenols had the highest values in peanut extracts, ranging from 5.64 ± 1.35 to 14.94 ± 2.79 mg GAE/g. Flavonoids ranged from 1.23 ± 0.11 to 2.24 ± 0.15 mg QE/g and flavonols from 0.14 ± 0.09 to 0.85 ± 0.36 mg QE/g. Condensed tannin contents range from 0.14 ± 0.02 to 0.26 ± 0.02 mg TAE/100 g and hydrolysable tannins from 0.03 ± 0 a to 0.16 ± 0.09 a mg TAE/g. TC tannins ranged from 0.14 ± 0.02 to 0.26 ± 0.02 mg TAE/100 g and THs from 0.03 ± 0 a to 0.16 ± 0.09 a mg TAE/g. Peanut seeds have interesting levels of phytonutrients. They could therefore be considered foods with therapeutic potential. Low levels of aflatoxins testify to the safety of the seeds.