Chemical Composition, Nutritional Properties and Antioxidant Activity of Monkey Apple (Anisophyllea laurina R. Br. ex Sabine)

The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition, nutritional properties and antioxidant activity of Monkey apple methanol extract. Results expressed on dry matter basis revealed the seeds contained the following: 2.74% protein, 15.86% crude fat, 7.67% crude fiber, 468.74kcal, 82.01% moisture content, 5.72% ash, 88.98% carbohydrate. The seeds further contained considerable amounts of minerals and vitamins as follows: 14.14mg/100g for iron, 2.37mg/100g for potassium, 1434.38mg/100g for manganese, 82.71mg/100g for magnesium, 185.49mg/100g for calcium, 28.33mg/kg for ascorbic acid, 13.33mg/kg for thiamine and 55.83mg/kg for pyridoxine. Furthermore, it was found out that both the seeds and pulps were also rich in the following: 297.49-304.94mg QE/100g for total flavonoids, 2086.98-2304.72mgGAE/100g for total phenolics, 1.6-96400mg/kg for citric acid, 5880-9280mg/kg for malic acid, 960-1040mg/kg for tartaric acid, 30.8-38.8mg/kg for fumaric acids, 232-660mg/100g for oxalates, 1186.67-1320mg/100g for phytic acid and 130.23-515.23mg/100g for tannins. The seeds and pulp oils were also found to be rich in unsaturated fatty acids ranging from 46.27-50.21%. Our results therefore demonstrate that Monkey apple could serve as supplementary source of essential nutrient and antioxidant components with health benefits.