Comparative analyses of the nutritional and antinutritional composition of pod flours from Neltuma spp. (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae) species from drylands of Mexico, Kenya and Tanzania
Zinnia H. González-Carranza,
Gabrielle Bone,
Arturo Castro-Castro,
M. Socorro González-Elizondo,
Xochitl Soto-Luzania,
Yolanda L. López-Franco,
Oscar Koech,
Tim Parr,
Charles J. Kilawe,
Sahian E. Velázquez-Quiñones,
Rubén F. González -Laredo,
Julio C. Ríos-Saucedo
Affiliations
Zinnia H. González-Carranza
School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, College Road, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, Leicestershire, United Kingdom; Corresponding author.
Gabrielle Bone
School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, College Road, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
Arturo Castro-Castro
Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Interdisciplinary Research Centre for the Integral Regional Development (CIIDIR), Sigma 119, 20 de Noviembre II, Durango, 34234, Durango, Mexico; Jardin Etnobiológico Estatal de Durango, National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Blvd. 204, Parque Sahuatoba, Durango, 34070, Durango, Mexico
M. Socorro González-Elizondo
Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Interdisciplinary Research Centre for the Integral Regional Development (CIIDIR), Sigma 119, 20 de Noviembre II, Durango, 34234, Durango, Mexico
Xochitl Soto-Luzania
Technological University of San Luis Rio Colorado, Av. Jalisco y calle 59 s/n Colonia Progreso, San Luis Rio Colorado, 83458, Sonora, Mexico
Yolanda L. López-Franco
Research Center for Food and Development, CIAD, A.C., Carretera Gustavo Enrique Astiazaran Rosas No. 46, Hermosillo, 83304, Sonora, Mexico
Oscar Koech
Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Tim Parr
School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, College Road, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
Charles J. Kilawe
Department of Ecosystems and Conservation, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O Box 3010,Morogoro, Tanzania, United Republic of Tanzania
Sahian E. Velázquez-Quiñones
Research Group on Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, TecNM-Instituto Tecnológico de Durango, Blvd. Felipe Pescador 1830, Nueva Vizcaya, Durango, 34080, Durango, Mexico
Rubén F. González -Laredo
Research Group on Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, TecNM-Instituto Tecnológico de Durango, Blvd. Felipe Pescador 1830, Nueva Vizcaya, Durango, 34080, Durango, Mexico
Julio C. Ríos-Saucedo
National Institute of Forestry, Crop and Livestock Research (INIFAP). Experimental Campus Valle del Guadiana, Road Durango-The Mezquital km 4.5, Durango, 34170, Durango, Mexico
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.
