ABSTRAC T:
Whole and hulled bottle gourd seeds were analyzed. Physical tests of the seeds showed that the average weight of 100 seeds was 26.86 g, and the volume of the seeds was about 29 ml. The percentage of husks was 55.74%, a higher percentage than the cotyledons, which gave 44.26%. The apparent density was 0.263 g/ml and the true density was 0.905 g. / liter and the porosity rate was 28.88%. The whole seed has a length and width of 17.17 ml and 9.7 ml, respectively, and the hulled seeds are about 15.71 ml in length and 4.78 ml in width. Chemical composition results: Moisture and total ash increased from the whole seed from 3.4% and 4.05%, respectively, to 5.5% and 7.5% in the hulled seed sample. Whole seeds were characterized by a high percentage of crude fiber, which was 15%, while it was about 1% in hulled seeds. The fat and protein of whole seeds were about 38.33% and 24.03%, respectively, and hulled seeds were rich in fat and protein, which were 40.87%, and 26.43%, and when the fat was removed, it reached the protein in the hulled seeds was 67.12% and the fat was 0.83%. The percentage of carbohydrates in the sample of defatted hulled seeds was about 17.74% and the whole seeds were 14.86%. The hulled seed sample was characterized by a high level of potassium, followed by phosphorus, and their percentages reached 1397 and 1229 mg/100 g, respectively. The seeds were distinguished by their content of amino acids, especially the non-essential amino acid glutamic acid. Its percentage in hulled seeds and whole seeds was 13.93 and 11.09 g/100 g of protein, respectively. The percentage of the essential amino acid lysine in hulled seeds was 7.55 and in whole seeds was 4.55 g/100 g of protein.
Keywords: Bottle gourd; lagenaria siceraria; Chemical and Functional Properties.
BY:
Mohamed A. Ahmed Alshareef1* & Roula S. Alnawees2
1,2Faculty of Food Sciences,
Wadi Alshati University, Brack, Libya.