Physicochemical characteristics of Terminalia catappa (Combretaceae) almond flour harvested in the Plateau district of Côte d’Ivoire

<p>This work was initiated to highlight the physicochemical characteristics of <em>Terminalia catappa</em> almond flour. The standard methods (AOAC) were used to determine the physicochemical composition. The physicochemical analysis of 100 g of almond flour from <em>Terminalia catappa </em>revealed a high protein (24.22%), high fat (55.65%), ash (4.1%), fibre (6.5%) and low carbohydrate (10.36%) content with an energy value of 639.1 Kcal/100 g. The amino acid profile of <em>Terminalia catappa</em> almond meal indicated a total essential amino acid level of 15.58 mg/100g protein and non-essential amino acids were 16.45 mg/100g protein. The fatty acid profile was composed of eight (8) saturated fatty acids, three (3) unsaturated fatty acids and one polyunsaturated. Statistical analysis reveals that the calcium (552.54 ± 0.03 mg/100g), potassium (675.65 ± 0.02 mg/100g), zinc (5.24 ± 0.02 mg/100g), magnesium (401.15 ± 0.05 mg/100g), iron (7.12±0.04 mg/100g) and manganese (10.21 ± 0.03 mg/100g) contents of <em>Terminalia catappa</em> flour were significantly (p < 0.05) different. The molar ratios of Phytates/Iron, Phytates/Zinc and Oxalate/Calcium show that the flour of the almond of <em>Terminalia catappa</em> could not interfere with the assimilation of iron and zinc. Therefore, the substitution of flour from <em>Terminalia catappa</em> almond to wheat for experimentation in nutrition and food technology would be an alternative in the fight against protein-energy malnutrition.</p> <p>published by the <strong> <a href="https://innspub.net/international-journal-of-biosciences/">International Journal of Biosciences (IJB)</a></strong></p>