Morphological and Physicochemical Characteristics of the Fruits of Anisophyllea Quangensis Engl. Ex Henriq from the Savannah Surrounding the City of Brazzaville-Congo
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The present study is a contribution to the valorization of unconventional wild oilseed plants from the floristic biodiversity of Congo through the morphological and physicochemical characterization of the fruits of Anisophyllea quangensis. Ten fruit samples were collected from different locations in the savannah surrounding Brazzaville. Morphological characterization on 20 fruits from each sample was carried out using a caliper and a precision balance. The extraction and physicochemical characterization of fats from the pulp and seed were carried out according to standard analysis methods. The results show that the fruits of Anisophyllea quangensis are ellipsoids (l/L< 1). The pulp contains two (2) times more water than the seed, i.e. 83.13±3.10% and 38.8±5.2% respectively. The ash content of the pulp (8.1±2.1%) is also higher than that of the seed (3.28±1.02%); on the other hand, the oil content of the pulp (4 ± 2%) is very low compared to the fat content of the seed (27 ± 3%). On physicochemical analyses, the fat of the seed has a refractive index between 1.4558 and 1.4725, an acid index around 45 mgKOH/g, a peroxide index less than or equal to 15 meq/Kg, an iodine index less than 110% and a calorific value of 41558 KJ/Kg on average. For the oil from the pulp we have a refractive index of 1.5046, acid index of 73.15 mgKOH/g; a peroxide index of 5.27 meq/Kg; iodine index 76.3% and a calorific value of 38095.77 KJ/Kg. These results make it possible to classify Anisophyllea quangensis among the medium oleaginous plants of the Congo Basin and attest to the nutritional and cosmetic interest of its fat.
Institution: Marien Ngouabi University
Language: English
Subfield: Organic Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4402951559