Nutritional Valorization and Chemical Composition of Seeds of Hibiscus sabdariffa sabdariffa from Benin

Abstract

Hibiscus sabdariffa sabdariffa is a non-timber forest product found in sub-Saharan Africa and used in both pharmacopoeia and food. The present study aims to evaluate the chemical composition and the nutritional potential of Hibiscus sabdariffa sabdariffa from Benin. Thus, the moisture content and volatile matter has been determined according to ISO 665:2000; the ash following the standard ISO 749:1977, the proteins according to ISO 5983-1:2005; the total carbohydrates by the difference formula; the oil content according to ISO 734:2015; the content of mineral and trace elements by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and secondary metabolites following staining and precipitation reactions specific to each metabolite family. The results revealed that the seed of Hibiscus sabdariffa sabdariffa contains 95.27% of dry matter; 6.33% of ash; 19.18% of proteins; 56.16% of carbohydrates; 13.6% of oil and provides 423.76 kcal/100g. As secondary metabolites, saponosides, alkaloids, coumarins and reducing compounds were identified. The content of mineral and trace elements showed 61.70 mg/kg of manganese, 1.91% of potassium, 199.16 mg/kg of iron, 4663.60 mg/kg of magnesium, 178.07 mg/kg of sodium and 0.24% of calcium. These results therefore reflect a high nutritional potential of the seeds of Hibiscus sabdariffa sabdariffa, favorable to the establishment of a viable agro-food chain for this NTFP already commonly used by the people of Benin.