Nutritional and Anti-Nutrient Composition of Three Kola Nuts (<i> Cola nitida, Cola acuminata </i> and <i> Garcinia kola </i>) Produced in Benin

Abstract

Kola nuts were regularly chewed by West Africans and Beninese in particularly. The aim of this study was to investigate nutritional and anti-nutrient content of three Benin’s kola nuts ( Cola nitida, Cola acuminata and Garcinia kola ). Proximate composition of the three species of kola nuts was assessed using standard analytical AOAC methods. Phenolics and flavonoids contents were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum trichloride methods, respectively. Mineral composition was determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry method. Free and total amino acids were separated and quantified by HPLC. Protein content of the three kola nuts ranges from 4.95% ( G. kola ) to 10.64% ( C. acuminata ) whereas fat content ranges from 0.2 ± 0.00 ( C. nitida ) to 2.5 ± 0.42 ( G. kola ). Total phenolics abounded (2444.96 ± 81.56 μg Eq AG/100g) in C. acuminata , while flavonoids predominated (561.69 ± 22.10 μgEqQ/100g) in G. kola . The three species are a good source of magnesium and a copper provider was lowest in C. nitida (0.59 ± 0.08 mg/g) and in C. acuminata (0.65 ± 0.02 mg/g). The dominant total essential amino acids were threonine ( C. acuminata ) and methionine ( C. acuminata and G. kola ), while the predominant non-essential total amino acids according to species were arginine ( C. nitida and G. kola ), proline ( C. acuminata ) and cysteine ( G. kola ). For the anti-nutrients factors, saponins were in great proportion (8.33% ± 0.25%), while the oxalates were in small proportion (0.44% ± 0.04%). The three species have an interesting nutritional composition, but these seeds have the relatively lowest amino acids content.