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ISSN 2063-5346
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Amino Acid Profile and Biological Value of Aqueous Seed Extract of Cucumis melo Linn Cucurbitaceae

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Florence David Tarfa, Joshua Oheji Otugbeikwu, Obi Peter Adigwe
» doi: 10.48047/ecb/2023.12.si4.1508

Abstract

Malnutrition is one of the most pressing challenges for developing countries. Cucurbitaceae are known for their nutritive and medicinal values. The objective ofthis study is to evaluate the amino acids profile which will prompt the need to develop varieties of protein-rich plant products for use as nutritional supplements. Cucumis melo seeds were bought washed, dried, and milled into flour. Defatted seed flour and protein precipitate were prepared using standard methods by AOAC, and analysed using the Applied Biosystems PTH Amino Acid Analyzer to determine the amino acids contents. The amino acid profile of C. melo seed flour is comparable to that of egg, fish, and beef but have higher contents of arginine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, methionine, and histidine. The protein efficiency ratio calculated ranged from 2.32 through 4.13 indicating high-quality protein. The total essential amino acids ranged from 41.39-52.7 % and amino acid scores were from 102% to 575% values compared to whole egg. The defatted sample (POP) had lower amino acid contents compared to the whole flour (HW) and the protein recipitate (PP) however, POP significantly (p<0.05) higher glutamic acid. There is potential of developing nutraceuticals and meat analogs with the whole-seed flour of Cucumis melo.

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