Physico-chemical and biochemical characterization of Moringa oleifera seeds from seven areas of Benin | IJB_INNSPUB
By: Cherif Alidou, Adam Salifou, Fidèle P. Tchobo, Bruno Barea, Mohamed M. Soumanou
The present study aims to valorize Benin Moringa oleifera seeds through the characterization of seeds and oils extracted. Thus, the seeds of seven areas (Sakete, Porto-Novo, Abomey-Calavi, Koutchime, Bassila, Cotonou, Dassa-zoume) of Benin were collected. They were characterized through the evaluation of their color, dimension, dry matter, fats, proteins and ash contents. The quality of the extracted oils from these seeds was then estimated by the determination of their color, acidity, index of saponification and refraction.
The results indicated that the seeds have a dimension ranging between 0.27 and 0.34 cm, with a collapsing resistance from 32.16 to 60.23 N and of the colors different from a zone to another. The proximate characteristics of seeds vary respectively on average from 90.67 to 92.80% for the dry matter content; from 37.34 to 44.77 % for the lipid content; from 38.47 to 41.04 % for the protein; from 7.49 to 13.02 for totals sugar and from 3.49 to 3.80% for the ash content. Acidity, the index of saponification and refraction determined on the extracted oils from these seeds vary on average from 3.34 to 5.3, 149.78 to 158.43 of oil and 1.477 to 1.465 respectively. The composition of the fatty acids shows a strong concentration of the mono-unsaturated fatty acids (72.9-78.8%).
