CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF Hancornia speciosa SEEDS

Hancornia speciosa tree is a native plant found in Brazilian Cerrado and Pantanal, popularly known as mangaba tree. The fruits are largely used in local cooking, being consumed both in natura and in preparations such as desserts, jams, liqueur, juice, and ice cream.1 For fruit pulp consumption, plant seeds are discarded, being considered as a residue. A lot is known regarding fruit pulp nutritional composition but information about its seed is scarce. The objective of this paper is to describe the chemical composition of Hancornia speciosa seeds. The fruits were obtained from local merchants in the District of Anastácio, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The seeds were separated from the pulp manually. Each analysis was performed in triplicate. Moisture, ash, protein, fat, and dietary fiber were analyzed, following AOAC protocols. Carbohydrate content was calculated by difference. The calorific value was estimated by multiplying the protein and carbohydrate content by 4kcal/g, and lipids by 9 kcal/g. The final composition obtained for H. speciosa seeds in wet basis is: 40% of moisture; 1,26% of ashes; 8,41% of protein; 11,61% of lipids; 10,14% of carbohydrates and 28,59% of total fiber. The calorific value is 178kcal/100g of seeds. The residue analyzed presents a calorific value smaller than other popular seeds, such as pumpkins, sunflower and sesame2. Although the protein content is also smaller than the ones from these seeds, it is enough to be classified as a source of protein, reaching 14% of the daily recommendations for this nutrient (considering an adult male)3. Lastly, stands out the content of total fiber, which is higher than the other seeds previously mentioned. Instead of being discarded, this residue could be utilized not only on homemade preparations but also by food industries to produce fiber fortified products and improve population consumption of dietetic fiber.