Nutritional quality of pumpkin (Cucurbita Pepo L.) Seeds based on the mineral and fatty acid composition

Abstract

Pumpkin seeds contribute to the nutrition of human populations and are also used in medicine in many parts of the world. In Uganda, pumpkin seeds are nowadays promoted and consumed as a snack. The potential of a food to be recommended for human consumption is determined primarily by the composition of its nutrients. The probable contribution of pumpkin seed towards the mineral, and essential fatty acid and total dietary lipid intakes in Uganda is not well known. The objective of this study was to determine the mineral content and oil yield of pumpkin seeds, analyze the fatty acid composition, and assess the nutritional quality of the lipid fraction. Mineral content was determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Fatty acid composition was determined using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Nutritional quality was determined using total polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)/total saturated fatty acid (SFA), ω6/ω3 and hypocholesterolemic /hypercholesterolemic (h/H) ratios, and the atherogenicity (AI) and thrombogenicity indices. Potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg) were the major macro-elements with mean concentrations of 416.45±27.66 and 407.56±58.93 mg/kg, respectively. Iron (Fe; 7.56±0.68 mg/kg) and zinc (Zn; 5.57±0.65 mg/kg) were major microelements. The oil yield ranged from 9.73% to 40.81%. The predominant fatty acids in decreasing order were linoleic (C18:2ω6), palmitic (C16:0), oleic (C18:1ω9) and stearic (C18:0) acids. Low linolenic acid levels (C18:3ω3; < 1%) were observed. The PUFA/SFA and h/H ratios, and the values of AI and TI as 0.23 and 0.90 repetitively for the pumpkin seeds were favorable. Pumpkin seeds are a health food for human consumption. KEY WORDS: Cucurbita pepo L., mineral, oil yield, fatty acid, AI, TI, h/H ratio. 1 CHAPTER 1: