Amino Acid, Mineral and Fatty Acid Content of Pumpkin Seeds (Cucurbita spp) and Cyperus esculentus Nuts in the Republic of Niger

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chuang LT ; Constans D ; Glew RH ; Glew RS ; Huang YS ; Millson M ; Vanderjagt DJ
• Description:
  Dried seeds and nuts are widely consumed by indigenous populations of the western Sahel, especially those who inhabit rural areas. In light of the need for quantitative information regarding the content of particular nutrients in these plant foods, we collected dried pumpkin (Cucurbita spp) seeds and nuts of Cyperus esculentus in the Republic of Niger and analyzed them for their content of essential amino acids, minerals and trace elements, and fatty acids.On a dry weight basis, pumpkin seed contained 58.8% protein and 29.8% fat. However, the lysine score of the protein was only 65% relative to the FAO/WHO protein standard. The pumpkin seed contained useful amounts of linoleic (92 microg/g dry weight) and the following elements (on a microg per g dry weight basis): potassium (5,790), magnesium (5,690), manganese (49.3), zinc (113), selenium (1.29), copper (15.4), chromium (2.84), and molybdenum (0.81), but low amounts of calcium and iron. Except for potassium (5,573 microg/g dry weight) and chromium (2.88 microg/g dry weight), the C. esculentis nuts contained much less of these same nutrients compared to pumpkin seeds. In conclusion, pumpkin seeds represent a useful source of many nutrients essential to humans. The data in this report should of practical value to public health officials in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Amino Acids Minerals Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Amino-acids Fats Fatty-acids Food Nutrition Proteins Trace-substances
• ISSN:
  0921-9668
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; New Mexico ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  51-56
• Volume:
  61
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20030744
• Citation:
  Plant Foods Hum Nutr 2006 Jun; 61(2):51-56
• Email:
  dvanderjagt@salud.unm.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Formic acid (CAS RN 64-18-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Plant Foods for Human Nutrition
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e3c172d0f8e06f6362d41eed50ae606ab99f08d5c55ec5aa2ef039d8a932aa59a2c356d1d06fb60caee8b2b2ac9a46f0b487b9844b24a4f2ddb25905e86f67f8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191262/cdc_191262_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 824.65 KB ]