Chemical composition and nutritive value of hot pepper seed (Capsicum annuum) grown in Northeast Region of China

Chemical composition and nutritive value of hot pepper seeds (Capsicum annuum) grown in Northeast Region of China were investigated. The proximate analysis showed that moisture, ash, crude fat, crude protein and total dietary fiber contents were 4.48, 4.94, 23.65, 21.29 and 38.76 g/100 g, respectively. The main amino acids were glutamic acid and aspartic acid (above 2 g/100 g), followed by histidine, phenylalanine, lysine, arginine, cysteine, leucine, tryptophan, serine, glycine, methionine, threonine and tyrosine (0.8-2 g/100 g). The contents of proline, alanine, valine and isoleucine were less than 0.8 g/100 g. The fatty acid profile showed that linoleic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid and linolenic acid (above 0.55 g/100 g) as the most abundant fatty acids followed lauric acid, arachidic acid, gondoic acid and behenic acid (0.03-0.15 g/100 g). Analyses of mineral content indicated that the most abundant mineral was potassium, followed by magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, sodium and manganese. The nutritional composition of hot pepper seeds suggested that they could be regarded as good sources of food ingredients and as new sources of edible oils.

Effect of Amaranth addition on the nutritional composition and consumer acceptability of extruded provitamin A-biofortified maize snacks

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of adding Amaranth leaf powder on the nutrient content and consumer acceptability of extruded provitamin A-biofortified (PVA) maize snacks. Flours of four varieties of PVA maize were composited with Amaranth leaf powder at 0, 1 and 3% (w/w) substitution of, respectively, and extruded into snacks. The ash content of the snacks increased from 0.53 g/100 g-0.58 g/100 g to 0.650 g/100g-89 g/100 g and protein content increased from 9.12 g/100 g-10.94 g/100 g when Amaranth was increased from 0% to 3%. Similarly, lysine content increased from 0.10 g/100 g to 0.17 g/100 g, whilst methionine increased from 0.14 g/100 g to 0.19 g/100 g. The provitamin A content of the snacks ranged from 1.29 µg/g to 1.40 µg/g at 0% Amaranth and 1.54 µg/g to 1.78 µg/g at 3% Amaranth. The acceptability of the snacks decreased with increasing Amaranth concentration, only a very small proportion (2-8%) of the panel liked the snacks extremely. PVA maize with added Amaranth leaf powder has a potential for use in nutritious and healthy extruded snacks, but the consumer acceptability of the snacks should be improved.