Study of nutritional contents of Pruns amygdalus batsch seeds

Prunus amygdalus Batsch [Rosaceae] is one of the major tree crops of the world.Inaddition to its nutritional value, almond also contains a number of phytochemicals that are responsible for a variety of bioactivities, among which antioxidant activity which has been frequently studied.Noprevious studies were done on Umm alfahm cultivar, this encouraged the authors to perform the present study aiming to throw light on the nutritional profile of title plant. Proximate analysis of the kernel Prunus amygdalus B. includes the determination of moisture content, total ash, total protein, total fats, total carbohydrates and crude fibers, study of vitamin E content by using HPLC, determination of the mineral content according to Association of Official Analytical Chemists[A.A.O.C] and determination of amino acid contents in kernels. Almond were showed a total fat [52.083%] the protein constitute [22.83%], carbohydrate [16.9%] adequate low moisture content [4.37%] low ash content [3.82%], the content of vitamin E in almond [77.67 mg/100gm], the mineral contents of almond were resulted Calcium [0.23%] Phosphorus [0.53%], Potassium 6656 mg/kg, Magnesium 2864 mg/kg, Sodium 1072.5 mg/kg, Iron119.9 mg/kg, Zinc 52.25 mg/kg, Selenium 68.71 mg/kg and Copper 13.55 mg/kg. The identified amino acids amounted to [40.2%] calculated on dry basis, total non-essential amino acids percentage [70%] was higher than the percentage of the essential amino acids [30%]. Glutamic acid [5.02%] was the major non-essential amino acid identified, whereas Cysteine [0.37%] was the minor component, concerning the identified essential amino acids, Leucine was the major one [1.38%], while methionine [0.16%] was the minor component. From the present study, it could be concluded that the kernels of Prunus amygdalus Batsch"Umm alfahm" cultivated in Egypt are good for health and should readily be incorporated into diet

Study of polysaccharides isolated from the oleo-gum-resins of boswellia carteri and commi phora myrrha and their immuno- modulatory activity

The present study aims to isolate the polysaccharides of the oleo-gum-resins of Boswellia carteri and Commiphora myrrha Family Burseraceae, identify their components and test their immuno-modulatory activity for the first time. The polysaccharides were isolated from the oleo-gum-resins of Boswellia carteri and Commiphora myrrha using different chemical and chromatographic techniques. The components of the polysaccharide hydrolysates are estimated qualitatively and quantitatively by using PC and HPLC analysis. The immuno-modulatory activity is tested by splenocyte and mitogen induced lymphocyte proliferation methods. The percentage yield of the isolated polysaccharide was 15.4% and 15.7% from Boswellia carteri and Commiphora myrrha oleo-gum-resins respectively. Galactose and ribose are the major constituting units of the polysaccharide isolated from Boswellia carteri oleo-gum-resin whereas ribose and galacturonic acid are the major constituting units of the polysaccharide isolated from Commiphora myrrha oleo-gum-resin. The polysaccharide of B. carteri oleo-gum-resin showed mild immuno-stimulatory activity at a dose of 5microg/ml, while that of C. myrrha oleo-gum-resin showed no activity at this dose. Chromatographic investigation of the polysaccharides isolated from Boswellia carteri and Commiphora myrrha oleo-gum-resins by PC and HPLC analysis demonstrated their qualitative and quantitative variation in their chemical composition. Higher concentrations of the polysaccharides could be tested for immuno-modulatory activity