INVESTIGATING FUNCTIONAL FOOD COMPONENTS AND EFFECT OF BOILING ON SOME SPECIES OF SESAME (SESAMUM INDICUM) SEEDS

Abstract

The functional components - phytochemicals, vitamin, proximate, mineral and fatty acid compositions of three different species of sesame seeds: S. orientale, S. radiatum and S. V. Ex. Sudan were evaluated to establish use as functional food. Also the impact of boiling in water as a method of food processing was investigated on the alkaloid and flavonoid as well as vitamin compositions at varying times. The results revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavanoids, saponin, tannin and phenol of which S. radiatum recorded the highest percentage of flavanoid (25.333±1.528%) and least percentage alkaloid (35.333±0.577%). The highest vitamin C concentration was observed in S. V. Ex. Sudan (0.0062±0.0002) and vitamin E was highest in S. radiatum (0.1781±0.0006) which also had the highest lipid content of 58.9 + 0.75% indicating highest oil content compared to the other two species. Sesamum V. Ex. Sudan had highest crude fibre of 8.5 + 0.92%. Sesamum radiatum contained highest calcium, magnesium, zinc copper and iron while S. orientale had highest sodium and cobalt. The oil extracted with ethanol contains more different types of fatty acids than the manually extracted oil. There were more different unsaturated fatty acids than saturated ones in the seeds. The Saturated fatty acids (SFA) identified in the oil samples were caproic acid (C6:0) found only in the oil extracted with ethanol but not in the manually extracted one; palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), arachidic acid (C20.0), behenic acid (C22.0), and lignoceric acid (C24.0). Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) identified in the samples were myristoleic acid (C14:1) which was found only in the oil extracted with ethanol; palmitoleic acid (C16:1) oleic [C18.1(9)], vaccenic acid [C18.1(11)], eicosenoic acid (C20.1) and erusic acid (C22:1). Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) identified in the oil samples were linoleic (C18:2),, alpha linolenic acid (C18:3),, eicosadienoic acid (C20.2), arachidonic (C20.4), dihomo-Y-linolenic (C20.3) and docosahexaenoic (C22:6) acids. The oil samples were rich especially in oleic [C18.1(9)] and vaccenic acid [C18.1(11)]. More so, considerable amount of alkaloid, flavanoid and vitamins contents were recorded after a maximum boiling time of thirty minutes for the cooked samples. The presence of these components predisposes these sesame seeds as valuable functional food.