Potential of seeds of Napoleona imperialis (p. beauv) as a source of haemolytic saponin and feed ingredients

摘要

SeedsextractedfromfruitsofNapoleonaimperialisinNigeriawereprocessedintoadrypowderandanalysedfornutrients,calorificvalueandantinutritionalfactors.Extractedsaponinfromtheseedwasusedforerythrocytefragilitytests(haemolysis)whilebufferedsalineextractoftheseedmealwasusedfortoxicitytestwith3-weekoldbroilerchicks.Resultsoftheproximateanalysisshowedthatthedryseedmealhad4.8%moisture,11.7%crudeprotein,4.95%etherextract,3.60%crudefibreand3.52%ash.Themineralcontentoftheseedmealincluded5.01g/kgCa,17.5g/kgKand16.1g/kgNa.Thevaluesforsaponinandcyanidecontentswere20%and135mg/kg,respectively.Invitroexperimentwiththeseedmealshowedveryhighlevelofhaemolysiswhiletheinvivoexperimenthadnoobservablelysing.TheinvestigationthereforeshowsthattheseedsofN.imperialisarerichsourcesofcommercialhaemolyticsaponin.Inaddition,saponinextractionandcyanidedetoxificationwouldmaketheseedmealagoodrawmaterialsourceforlivestockfeed.