Montano, Bonifacio, Rumboao 1999

8/10/2019 Montano, Bonifacio, Rumboao 1999

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LSEVIER

Aquatic Botany

65

999) 321-325

gu tlc

l ot ny

www.elsevier.coml1ocale/aquabot

Proximate analysis

of

the flour and starch from

Enhalus

acoroides .f.) Royle seeds

M. Nemesio E. Montano Ronald

S

Bonifacio, Rowena Grace O Rumbaoa

Marine Science Institute College Science PO. Box I University the Philippines 1101 iUrnan

Quezon City Philippines

Abstract

The seeds ofthe tropical seagrassEnhalusacoroideswere analyzed for theirnutritive components

to assess their dietary value for hwnans. Proximate analysis of flour prepared by grinding the dried

seeds gave the following results: 9.8 moisture; 8.8 protein; 0.2 fat; 72.4 carbohydrates;

2.4 crude fiber; 6.4 ash; 933 mg/kg calcium; 2392mg/kg phosphorous; and 2813mg/kg iron.

Correspondingly, proximate analysis of the starchprepared from the flour with a 50 yield, resulted

in the following: 11 moisture; 0.8 protein; 1 fat; 87.6 carbohydrates; 0.4 crude fiber;

0.5 ash; 320mg/kg calcium; 210m l phosphorous and; 220 mg/kg iron. Comparison

of

the

proximate analysis results and the calculated caloric values of the seagrass seed flour and starch

showed similarity with those

of

terrestrial origin.

1999 Elsevier Science B.V All rights reserved.

Keywords: Enhalus acoroides; Seagrass seed; Proximate analysis; Flour and Starch; Caloric value

1. Introduction

Seagrasses can surpass the productivity

of

wheat,

com,

rice

hay and

sugar beets Rollon

and Fortes, 1990). This high productivity suggests that seagrasses may be further explored

to benefit humans directly as a source of food. For example, the seeds of Zostera marina

were discovered to be an important traditional food source of the

Sen

Indians Felger

and Moser,

1973).

They made :flour from the seeds and sometimes enriched its flavor by

mixing itwith the

ground

seeds

ofthe

columnar cactus Pachysereuspringlei Valencia et aI.,

1985). Thus, seeds of the seagrass, Enhalus acoroides which is abundant in the Philippines,

might have the same potential as that

of

Z marina. Further, the seeds of this seagrass are

considered edible in

most

parts of the Philippine areas where

beds

are found.

The pods

of

Corresponding author.

03043770/991

- see front matter1999 Elsevier Science B.V All rights reserved.

PIl: S0304-3770 99 00049-2


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322

M N E Montano

l l

Aquatic Botany 65 (1999) 321 325

this marine angiosperm are collected and the raw seeds consumed or, alternatively boiled

before consumption. In some localities, the seed pods are sold

in

the market. This

paper

documents the results

of

proximate analyses of seed flour and starch obtained from the

tropical seagrass acoroides (L.f.) Royle.

2. Materials

and

methods

The pods of acoroides were collected duringits fruiting season (August-Dctober) from

Silaki Island (1626.68 N I 1955.33 E) in Bolinao, Pangasinan located

at

the northwestern

portion of the Philippines. The pods contained 9 to

12

l ight green seeds, 12 to

IS

mm in

height and 11 to 15 mm in diameter.

Crude flour was prepared by drying the seeds in the oven at 60C and grinding to a fine

powder. The starch, as confirmed by iodine test, was extracted from the flour according to

Vail et

a1

(1978). Both the flour and starch were subjected toproximate analyses. Moisture,

ash and crude fiber were determined by gravimetric method; fat by soxWet extraction and

gravimetry; protein by Kjeldahl determination; and carbohydrates

by

difference. Phospho

rus and ironwere determined by ashing-acid digestion and spectrophotometry. The samples

were further determined for their calcium content by ashing-acid digestion and atomic ab

sorption spectrophotometry or titrimetry. The analyses followed the methods described

in the Official Methods

of

Analysis by the Association

of

Official Analytical Chemists

(Helrich, 1990). All analyses were done in triplicate. Energy values were calculated from

the caloric equivalent of the carbohydrate, protein and fat content of the samples (Steven

sonand Miller, 1960). The values were comparedwith those of common flour and starches

listed in the Food Composition Table of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute

of

the

Philippine Department

of

Science and Technology (portugal et aI., 1990).

3

Results

Results of the proximate analysis showed the removal of protein and other components

by the extraction process. Protein content decreased significantly from 8.8 in the flour to

0.8 in the starch. Likewise, ash content was reduced from 6.4 to 0.4 (Table 1). Similarly,

fat and fiber contents were lowered during the extraction process. Only the carbohydrate

content increased indicating that the extraction retained most

of

the starch. The proximate

composition

of

the acoroides seed flour was comparable to those obtained from terrestrial

plants, exceptfor its mineral (ash) content (Table I). Its mineral components(including Ca,

P

and Fe) were significantly higher than common flours such as wheat flour, cassava flour and

rice flour. On the other hand, the proximate composition of the starch from the acoroides

seed did notvary significantly from reported values ofcommon starch (Table 1).The protein,

fat, fiber and ash content of

acoroides

seeds flour were slightly less than the reported

composition of another seagrass seed z

marina

while moisture and carbohydrates were

slightly higher. Meanwhile, the calcium and iron contents of

acoroides

flour exhibited

significantly higher values than that of marina (Table I).


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M N E Montano e/ al Aqua ie Bo/any

65 (1999) 32/-325

323

Table 1

Comparalive proximate analysis values of different flour and starches

Sample

E.

acoroides

Wheat

Cassava Rice

acoroides Arrow root East Indian

Z marina

seeds' flour

floui

seeds starch

arrow root

raw C

starch

starch

Moisture ( )

9.8

12.3 9.5 10.2

12.6 13.5 7.4

Protein ( ) 8.8

12.6

1.1

7.6 0.8 0.1

0.1 11.3

Fat( )

0.2

0.8 0.7 0.3

0.1 0.5

0.5 1.4

Carbohydrates 72.4 73.7 87.8 81.3 87.6 86.4 85.8 65.3

( )

Fiber Yo) 2.4 3.3 1.9

2.1

0.4

0.2 0.3

7.4

Ash

Yo)

6.4

0.6

0.9 0.6 0.5 0.4

0.1

7.1

Calcium 933

820 840 150

320 330

560 7.1

(mglkg)

Phosphorous 2392

1050 370

240 210 240 80

nd

(mglkg)

Iron (mglkg) 2813

10 0

220 72

15

1.0

Energy

327

352

362

358 355 351

348 nd

(calories/I 00 g)

, This study.

Portugal et aI., 1990.

C

Valencia el aI., 1985.

Discussion

The seeds

of

the tropical seagrass E.

acoroides

have been traditionally eaten in the Philip

pines. The raw seeds are described as crunchy and sweet,while boiled seeds aremore starchy

and taste like cooked sweet potato. In addition to being edible, the seeds are thought to have

aphrodisiac and contraceptive properties (Alino et aI., 1990).

The proximate composition of the flour and starch derived from E.

acoroides

seeds was

comparable to flour and starch from terrestrial plants. Consequently, the energy values were

also similar to land plant flour and starches (Table I).

would be interesting to investigate

on whether the seeds contain other nutrients such as vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids

and antioxidants. The slight differences in the proximate composition

of

E.

acoroides

and

marina suggest that the composition of grains from seagrass may vary with species and

geographical location. This study suggests that seagrass seeds could be a staple food along

coastal areas.

If

nutritional and toxicity studies confirm seagrass seeds as a food source,

carbohydrate requirements for human survival in small islands might be possible. With

the objective

of

food production, mariculture

of

the seagrass

E. acoroides

would be the

next logical step. The high flowering frequency

of

E.

acoroides

(as compared with that

of

Cymodecea rotundata and Thalassia hemprichii with an average of 2.8 flowers per shoot

per year (Duarte et aI., 1997), seems to support the feasibility of its culture but its low

vegetative growth rate (Duarte, 1991) suggests otherwise.

The bulk of the Filipino diet consists

of

cereal and cereal products (mainly rice and

corn) with a mean one-day per capita consumption of 340 g/day or 124 kg/year equivalent

to 42.3

of

total food intake

(FNRJ,

1995). From our study, each seagrass fruit produces


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324 M.N.E. Montano et al Aquatic Botany 65 1999

321-325

about 6.4 g

of

seeds per fruit. Thus, a hundred percent substitution

of

the cereal diet with

acoroides

seeds would require an equivalent of53 fruits per day.

The study of

acoroides

by Rollon 1998

in

the same area yielded the following data:

l

acoroides

density

is

ca.

10

shoots per quadrat

l

quadrat

= 0.25

m

2

; 2

an average

shoot flowers 1.054 per year; 3 the fruiting female flower ratio is ca. 1.88 out

of

4.79

females; and the average fruit contains ca.

9

seeds. Using these

data

the number of fruits

produced per square meter per year may be computed as follows:

10 shoots

0.25 m2

X

1.054 flowers 1.88 fruits

year shoot 4.79 flowers

6 5

fruits

m

2

year

Combining these data with the number of fruits required to meet the one-day per capita

food consumption of an average Filipino, the total land area required for production may

be estimated according

to

the equation:

53 fruits/day

2

O

04 fru

/

2

d = 1178.78 m

. 5

Its m ay

The large area needed

to

sustain the production of seagrass fruits per day per capita food

production makes mariculture of the seagrass,

acoroides

not feasible. This additional data

support the earlier conclusion. Biotechnological innovations might change the picture but

a thorough ecological and environmental assessment are still needed before the application

of

a new technology.

cknowledgements

This research was partially supported by the ASEAN--eanada Cooperative Programme

on Marine Science - Phase

II

CPMS-II with supplementary funds from the Philippine

Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development

of

the Department

of

Science

and Technology DOST-PCAMRD . Appreciation is

given

to

the staff of the

U P

MSI

Seaweed Building. This paper is U P Marine Science Institute Contribution No. 299.

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Documents

Montano, Bonifacio, Rumboao 1999