Amino acid profile and potential biomass conversion of Vitellaria paradoxa fruit pulp

Abstract

Vitellaria species is one of Africa's most important fruit crops with enormous human benefiting nutrients including amino acids. This study characterised Vitellaria paradoxa shea nut pulp from 5 regional zones of Ghana based on its acidity, pH and among the few for its qualitative and quantitative amino acids profile. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) techniques, using cellulose TLC plates were used to profile and quantify the amino acids. Fifteen essential amino acids were detected in the Vitellaria paradoxa shea nut pulp. Alanine, arginine, glutamic acid, glutamine and histidine were common in the Vitellaria paradoxa shea nut pulp. The most concentrated (41.02 g/100 g) of the 7 essential amino acids in the shea nut pulp was arginine and the least was glycine, 2.12 g/100 g. All seven 7 essential amino acids, except leucine and valine, were significantly different (P < 0.05) across the 5 shea regional zones of Ghana. The most acidic pulp, with 18.63% acidity, was from the Upper West Region. The quality and quantitative of amino acids in Vitellaria paradoxa shea nut pulp differed significantly from one region to the other. The shea nut pulp is a good source of essential amino acids and can be used fruit juice production and provide the required N for an effective fermentation to proceed. This has remarkable economic implication and significant environmental effects. Some health benefits of eating shea nut fruits consequential of its nutritional effects due to its amino acids composition have been noted to include its ability to help improve mood, boost exercise performance, prevent muscle loss and promote weight loss. Moreover, the amino acids profile of shea nut pulp may provide researchers with useful applications of the Vitellaria paradoxa shea nut pulp in the various industries.