Abstract
Wattle seed (Acacia spp.) is a well-known staple food within indigenous communities in Australia. A detailed investigation of the overall nutritional and sensory profile of four abundant and underutilized Acacia species—A. coriacea, A. cowleana, A. retinodes and A. sophorae—were performed. Additionally, molecular weight of protein extracts from the wattle seeds (WS) was determined. The seeds are rich in protein (23–27%) and dietary fibre (33–41%). Relatively high fat content was found in A. cowleana (19.3%), A. sophorae (14.8%) and A. retinodes (16.4%) with oleic acid being the predominant fatty acid. The seeds contained high amounts of essential amino acids (histidine, lysine, valine, isoleucine and leucine). A. coriacea is rich in iron (43 mg/kg), potassium (10 g/kg) and magnesium (1.7 g/kg). Pentose (xylose/arabinose), glucose, galactose and galacturonic acids were the major sugars found in the four species. Raw seeds from A. sophorae, A. retinodes and A. coriacea have the highest protein molecular weight, between 50–90 kDa, 80 kDa and 50–55 kDa, respectively. There was variation in the sensory profile of the WS species. This study showed that the four WS species have good nutritional value and could be included in human diet or used in food formulations.
Highlights
As the world population increases and natural resources diminish, there has been a serious concern on available sustainable nutritious foods [1]
The values for crude protein obtained in this study were higher than that of A. victoriae Bentham [20] but lower than those found in different subspecies of
The results indicate that wattle seeds (WS) can serve as a source of protein in the diets of the Aboriginal population in Australia
Summary
As the world population increases and natural resources diminish, there has been a serious concern on available sustainable nutritious foods [1]. Acacia subgenus Phyllodineae are naturally the most common Acacia species found in Australia and are among the most promising native leguminous plants [6,7]. These Acacias have been reported to exhibit significant potential to lower poverty in semi-arid regions of Africa [8,9]. The seeds from various Acacia species, which were used traditionally as source of food by Australian Indigenous population, have been economically revived as food additives, such as emulsifying and flavouring agents [10,11,12]. Acacia plants have been frequently used to treat diseases, such as fever, leucorrhoea, throat infection, diarrhoea and haemoptysis [15]
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