摘要
Cucumeropsis mannii, an underutilized oil seed was processed into raw full fat and defatted seed flours and its chemical, functional properties and anti-nutritional factors were determined using standard techniques. The effects of sample concentration and pH on the foaming properties of the seed flours were determined. The results showed that the full fat and defatted seed flours contained the following in g/100 g sample; 5.0 and 5.1; 45.8 and 1.0; 39.4 and 78.7; 3.45 and 4.40; 1.50 and 3.05; 4.85 and 7.75 for moisture, crude fat, protein, ash, crude fibre and carbohydrate, respectively. The most abundant mineral elements in the seed flour （mg/100 g） are potassium （198.5）, followed by nickel （30.0） and magnesium （28.4）. The water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, foaming capacity and stability, least gelation concentration, emulsion capacity and bulk density are 55.5% and 125.0%; 128.8% and 184.0%; 10.5% and 17.0%; 3.0% and 1.5%; 16.0% and 10.0 g/mL; 85.0 and 115.0 mL/g; 0.42 and 0.25 g/mL, respectively. Defatting influenced the functional properties. The foaming capacity is dependent on sample concentration and pH. The protein solubility of the full fat and defatted seed flours was minimum between pH 3 and 4 and maximum at pH 11. The anti-nutritional composition of the seed flour revealed the following： tannic acid, 1.54 mg/100 g; phytin phosphorus, 0.70 rag/g; phytic acid, 2.48 mg/g; oxalate, 1.85 mg/g; alkaloids 1.97% and saponin 0.50%. The seed flours （full fat and defatted） have potential as nutrient supplement, thickeners and emulsifiers in food system.
