Effect of Pre-processing Operations on Antioxidant Properties and Activities of Prosopis Africana Seed

The study investigated the effect of pre-processing operations on antioxidant properties and activities of Prosopis africana seeds. The following pre-processing operations were considered: boiling, germination, soaking and roasting. The antioxidant properties and activities of the processed Prosopis africana seed were analyzed using standard methods. The data obtained were analyzed using one-way ANOVA while Turkey HSD was adopted for its post hoc test. All statistical tests were conducted at 5 % level of significance. The roasted samples were higher in Total Phenol (7.49 mgGAE/g), Anthocyanin (6.44 mg/100g) but Vitamin E was found to be the highest in the germinated seed (3.87 mg/100g). The boiled seeds were higher in Beta carotene (103.85 mg/100g) while the germinated and soaked seeds were higher in Vitamin C (8.59 mg/100g) and Flavonoid (6.50 mg/100g respectively). Roasting gave a higher OH scavenging activity (70.68 %) and Reducing Power Activity (80.30%) while soaking gave a higher DDPH activity (70.64). The Flavonoid, Total Phenol, Anthocyanin and Vitamin E are significantly correlated to OH and FRAP while Beta carotene is significantly correlated to DPPH. The study had revealed that pre-processing operations had a significant effect on the antioxidant properties and activities of Prosopis africana seed, which offer nutritional and health benefits. Processed Prosopis africana seed are recommended for consumption as a good source of antioxidants.