Amino and fatty acids composition of African yam bean ( Sphenostylis stenocarpa) flour

Abstract

The amino acids and the fatty acids of African yam bean ( Sphenostylis stenocarpa) flour were analysed. Amino acid analysis showed that the protein contained nutritionally useful quantities of most of the essential amino acids including sulphur-containing amino acids. The total essential amino acids amounted to an average of 55.0%. Both the total amino acids and the total essential amino acids showed significant difference among the six cultivars analysed. Stearic and linoleic acids were the most predominant fatty acids with average values of 34.4 and 29.4%, respectively. Capric, lauric, palmitoleic, oleic and erucic acids were present in small quantities and no significant differences were observed in the fatty acid compositions among the African yam bean cultivars.