Nutritive value, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the seed of Telfairia occidentalis and Citrullus lanatus (Cucurbitaceae) from different areas in the Centre Region of Cameroon

This study aims to investigate the nutritional profile, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of seeds of Telfairia occidentalis and Citrullus lanatus from Cameroun. Proximate, mineral composition and antinutritional factors were determined as well as antioxidant, antiradical and anti-inflammatory activities of plant extracts. The results showed that the seeds contains different levels of macronutrients such as moisture (2.76 - 9.73% fw), proteins (19.25–29.21%), lipids (41.41–61.93%), carbohydrates (5.30–17.80%), crude fibre (1.78–8.43%) and ash (1.11–2.51% dw). They exhibited high amounts of zinc (20.22–86.67 mg/100 g), potassium (407.34–727.80 mg/100 g) and sodium (142.09- 424.09/100 g). Their extracts were rich in total phenols, flavonoids and tannins with the concentration varied from 3.88 to 288.19 mg depending on the type of plant and harvest area. The hydroethanol extract of C. lanatus seeds demonstrated the best antioxidant capacity. For the scavenging assay, the inhibitory concentrations 50% (IC50) ranged from 17.53 to 787.97 μg/ml depending on the nature of radical and the extracts. The anti-inflammatory activities revealed that the extract of T. occidentallis seed showed 69.28% of the inhibition on red blood cell hemolysis while that of C. lanatus demonstrated 98.93% of the inhibition effect on egg albumin denaturation. Seeds may serve as protein and mineral sources for infant formula.