Flour from Prosopis alba seeds could be used as functional food or dietary supplement

Abstract

In Argentina, the pods of Prosopis alba are used as a source of food products (syrup, flour, sweets such as arrope, patay and jam) and drinks (añapa, aloja and chicha). According to the "Código Alimentario Argentino", "algarrobo flour" is produced by grinding of whole mature pods of Prosopis alba and P. nigra but until this moment most of the seed is discarded and only the mesocarp is used in the grounding traditional process. The aim of this paper was to determine the nutritional quality, phytochemical composition and biological properties of Prosopis alba seed flour to promote its use. Crude protein was the major component of cotyledon flour (62 %). Furthermore, the flour showed low level of carbohydrate and fat. The main fatty acids were linoleic (60.62%), oleic (18.08%) and palmitic (15.87%) . As regards minerals, the flour was high in K and P and low in Na. Further, the cotyledon flour could be considered a ?source of fiber? due to its high content (9%). Carotenoids (10%) and phenolic compounds (11%) were the dominant phytochemical. The extract enriched in free phenolic compounds obtained from flour exhibited ABTS?+ reducing capacity and scavenging activity of H2O2 and was able to inhibit three pro-inflammatory enzymes of the araquidonic acid metabolism. The extract was more effective to inhibit cyclooxigenase-2 and lipoxygenase enzymes than phospholipase A2 enzyme. The results suggest that due to its nutritional and functional properties, P. alba cotyledon flour could be considered a new alternative in the formulation of foods or food supplements, alone or combined with cereal proteins. .Acknowledgements We thank MINCYT (CH/11/13) ?Valorizacion de frutos nativos sudamericanos. Metabolomica de frutos de algarrobos?, ANPCyT (PICT 1959), SECyT-UNT and CONICET for financial support.