Compositional and Amino Acid Profile of Nicker Bean (Entada gigas) Seeds.

ABSTRACT

The proximate, anti-nutritional factors, functional properties, minerals and amino acid composition of nicker bean (Entada gigas) were determined. The sample contained crude protein and carbohydrate of 24.8±0.02% and 47.2±0.10% respectively. The sample exhibited good emulsion capacity and emulsion stability of 62.3±0.03% and 36.2±0.01% respectively. The foaming capacity was 35.0±0.02% while the least gelation concentration was 4.00±0.01%. It contained nutritionally valuable minerals. The values of the anti-nutritional factors were phytate (6.59±0.50 mg/g), oxalate (3.50±0.10 mg/g) and tannin (0.26±0.02%). Glutamic acid was the most abundant amino acid with the value of 51.1 g/100 g crude protein while methionine (4.10 g/100 g crude protein) was the least abundant amino acid in the sample. Entada gigas is a potential source of nutrients that should be cultivated and its consumption encouraged.