Comparative analyses of the nutritional and antinutritional composition of pod flours from Neltuma spp. (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae) species from drylands of Mexico, Kenya and Tanzania

González-Carranza, Zinnia H.; Bone, Gabrielle; Castro-Castro, Arturo; González-Elizondo, M. Socorro; Soto-Luzania, Xochitl; López-Franco, Yolanda L.; Koech, Oscar; Parr, Tim; Kilawe, Charles J.; Velázquez-Quiñones, Sahian E.; González -Laredo, Rubén F.; Ríos-Saucedo, Julio C.

Abstract

Identifying novel risk-resilient diets is urgent to address food insecurity and tackle global hunger and malnutrition. This study evaluated the suitability of mesquite (Neltuma spp.) pod flours as food staples for human nourishment and compared nutritional properties of mesquites growing natively or as introduced species in the drylands of Mexico, Kenya and Tanzania. Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, we analysed chemical composition, dietary fibre, antinutrients, amino acids and fatty acids of pod flours from Neltuma laevigata, N. laevigata × N. odorata and N. velutina (abundant native species of Northern Mexico). We also studied the introduced N. juliflora from Kenya, and N. pallida from Tanzania which have become invasive. This research demonstrates that mesquite flour contains all the essential amino acids, with the highest being valine, leucine and lysine. The most abundant non-essential amino acids are aspartate, glutamate and proline. Mesquite flours are rich in palmitic, oleic and linolenic acids. Besides this, mesquite flour is abundant in phenols and contains less gallic and phytic acids than wheat. We show that nutritionally, mesquite flours are comparable to wheat flour. These findings demonstrate that Neltuma pod flours are excellent candidates to reduce malnutrition and hunger for the poorest people of the world.

Citation

González-Carranza, Z. H., Bone, G., Castro-Castro, A., González-Elizondo, M. S., Soto-Luzania, X., López-Franco, Y. L., Koech, O., Parr, T., Kilawe, C. J., Velázquez-Quiñones, S. E., González -Laredo, R. F., & Ríos-Saucedo, J. C. (2024). Comparative analyses of the nutritional and antinutritional composition of pod flours from Neltuma spp. (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae) species from drylands of Mexico, Kenya and Tanzania. Future Foods, 10, Article 100434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2024.100434

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 12, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Sep 6, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-12
• Deposit Date: Nov 4, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 4, 2024
• Journal: Future Foods
• Print ISSN: 2666-8335
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Article Number: 100434
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2024.100434
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/38914017
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666833524001400?via%3Dihub
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Comparative Analyses of the Nutritional and Antinutritional Composition of Pod Flours from Neltuma spp. (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae) Species from Drylands of Mexico, Kenya and Tanzania; Journal Title: Future Foods; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fufo.2024.100434; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.