title: Physicochemical properties of Malaysian-grown tropical almond nuts (Terminalia catappa).
abstract: The seeds of Terminalia catappa from Malaysia were analyzed for their physicochemical properties. The following values were obtained: moisture 6.23 ± 0.09 %, ash 3.78 ± 0.04 %, lipid 54.68 ± 0.14 %, protein 17.66 ± 0.13 %, total dietary fibre 9.97 ± 0.08 %, carbohydrate 7.68 ± 0.06 %, reducing sugar 1.36 ± 0.16 %, starch 1.22 ± 0.15 %, caloric value 593.48 ± 0.24 %. Studies were also conducted on amino acid profile and free fatty acid composition of the seed oil. Results revealed that glutamic acid was the major essential amino acid while methionine and lysine were the limiting amino acids. The major saturated fatty acid was palmitic acid, while the main unsaturated fatty acid was oleic acid followed by linoleic acid. In addition, the seed was rich in sucrose and had trace amount of glucose and fructose. Briefly, the seed was high in proteins and lipids which are beneficial to human.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, 43400 Selangor Malaysia.
authors.forename: Siew
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, 43400 Selangor Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lasekan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, 43400 Selangor Malaysia.
authors.forename: Kharidah Syed
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Muhammad
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, 43400 Selangor Malaysia.
authors.forename: Norhayati
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, 43400 Selangor Malaysia.
authors.forename: Rabiha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sulaiman
keywords: Amino acid; Fatty acid characteristics; Physicochemical properties; Terminalia catappa