Abstract The nutritional composition, amino acid profile and anti nutritional factors of raw and boiled Ficus polita fruits were evaluated using standard analytical methods. The proximate composition (%) of the raw fruit meal showed moisture content (5.23%), ash (11.88%), fat (2.09%), fibre (10.42%), protein (9.44) and carbohydrate (66.17%) and energy value of 1362.70 Kcal/kg. Boiling treatment reduced the moisture content (4.80%), crude protein (8.59%), ash (9.12%), crude fibre (9.55%), and fat (0.96%) while the carbohydrate and energy contents increased (70.85% and 1385.66Kcal/kg). Results of the anti-nutritional factors showed that raw Ficus polita fruits had phytate values of (1.25%), oxalate (0.38%), tannin (0.18%), saponin (6.50%) and cyanogenic glycosides (10.08 mg/100g) compared with boiled fruits which shows reduction in concentrations of tannin (50%), oxalate (28.95%), saponin (13.85%), phytate (8.80%) and glycoside (41.37%) with values of 0.09, 0.27, 5.60, 1.14 % and glycoside (5.95mg/100g), respectively. The analyzed Ficus polita fruits show appreciable amino acid concentration in both raw and boiled samples. The boiled samples increase the concentrations of arginine, cystine, isoleucine, threonine, methionine, tryptophan and phenylalanine (histidine, leucine, lysine, Gluatime, aspartate acid and reduced in alanine, valine, serine and proline. Glutamic acid and aspartic acid dominates (11.89-12.04 and 10.11-10.61%) the amino acid profile of the sample. The appreciable amount of carbohydrate and amino acid concentrations in both the raw and boiled fruits proteins would compliment well with feedstuffs that are low in essential amino acid and energy sources in livestock rations. Ficus polita fruits can be used as an energy source to curtail with the problem of deficiency in energy feedstuffs in the developing countries.
Chemisty Research Journal
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