Peanuts nutritional value

Contents Origin and History World and U.S. Production Processing Peanuts Nutritional Value of Peanuts Peanut Products and Uses... 

Pea.nuts, The proteins of peanuts are low in lysine, threonine, cystine plus methionine, and tryptophan when compared to the amino acid requirements for children but meet the requirements for adults (see Table 3). Peanut flour can be used to increase the nutritive value of cereals such as cornmeal but further improvement is noted by the addition of lysine (71). The trypsin inhibitor content of raw peanuts is about one-fifth that of raw soybeans, but this concentration is sufficient to cause hypertrophy (enlargement) of the pancreas in rats. The inhibitors of peanuts are largely inactivated by moist heat treatment (48). As for cottonseed, peanuts are prone to contamination by aflatoxin. FDA regulations limit aflatoxin levels of peanuts and meals to 100 ppb for breeding beef catde, breeding swine, or poultry 200 ppb for finishing swine 300 ppb for finishing beef catde 20 ppb for immature animals and dairy animals and 20 ppb for humans. 

Comparative investigations of the rates of hydrolysis of various natural triglycerides by pancreatic lipase have been carried out by several workers (257-260), As a general rule it is found that vegetable fats, such as coconut oil, palm oil, peanut oil, and rice bran oil, are hydrolyzed more rapidly than animal fats, such as beef fat or whale oil. These studies do not shed much light on the mode of action of lipase, but tend to support the often quoted view that unsaturated fatty acids are split off more readily than saturated acids they are useful when the nutritional values of natural fats are under consideration. Castor bean lipase hydrolyzes coconut oil more rapidly than beef fat and certain other fats (261). 

Peanuts are grown in many areas of the world and have a high nutritive value. However, peanuts are subject to aflatoxin contamination under certain environmental conditions, and when this happens, it nullifies their usefulness as food or feed (3). 

Because of its high nutritional value and the beneficial effects that some of its compounds exert, the price of VOO is relatively higher if we compare it with other edible oils. This fact could explain why so many adulterations have been found for VOO this matrix is susceptible to adulteration with cheaper olive oil categories (olive oil pomace, refined olive oil) and/or other edible oils. Com, cottonseed, canola, palm, peanut, soybean, and sunflower oils have been detected in adnlterated VOOs. 

Plant and animal N.f. can be distinguished analytically because they are associated with different sterols, e. g. phytosterol in plant fat and cholesterol in animal fat. They are of equal nutritional value, however, provided that the same vitamins and essential fatty acids are present. Plant N.f. are most abundant in seeds (40-45 % in rapeseed, poppy seed and linseed). Olives contain up to 25% N.f. The most important fruit oils are palm and olive oils the most important solid seed N. f. are coconut and palm seed fats and cocoa butter. The seed oils of cotton, com, sunflowers, peanuts, soy, almonds, sesame, flax (linseed), poppies, rape, mustard and Ricinus are economically important. 

The seeds of Acacia arabica were analyzed for composition and nutritional properties. The seed contains 5.2% oil and is rich in linoleic (39.2%) and oleic (32.8%) acids. Trace levels of epoxy and hydroxy fatty acids were also detected. When animals were fed 10% seed oil in their diet, they showed poor growth performance and low feed efficiency ratios. The digestibility of the seed oil was 90% compared to 94% for peanut oil. Because of the low oil content of the seed and inferior nutritive value of the seed oil, the seed of A. arabica was not considered a prime candidate for commercial exploitation as a source of dietary fat (Maity and Mandel, 1990). 

Finally, nutritive values vary over a spectrum ranging from fair to excellent with regard to the major nutrients. Information on these aspects is given in summary form in Table N-5. Additionally, the most important U.S. nuts—almonds, coconut, peanuts, pecans, and walnuts—are accorded narrative status in this book. 

NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF PEANUTS. The nutritive value of the different forms of peanuts and peanut products is given in Fig. P-1 7, and in Food Composition Table F-21. 

Flear nix lln Congol A mixture ol fish flour, millet, and peanut flour 150% proteinl. Made into biscuits. For children ages 2 to 6 years These bscuils, which have a good nutritive value and can be recommended for the ptevenbon of malnutrition, are readily accepted by children. 

Blends of peanut/chickpea, wheat/chickpea, rice/chickpea, peanuVsoybean, sunflower/maize, and cowpea/rice have all shown improved nutritional qualities with supplementation of sesame meal. Even more significant, however, is the finding that a simple blend of one part sesame and one part soy protein has about the same protein nutritive value as casein, the main protein of milk. The high-lysine and low-methionine content of soy protein is complementary to sesame protein. 

The nutritional values of the proteins contained in these oilseeds are affected by associated components. For example, the chemical pigments, gossypols, contained in cottonseed make the oil-free meals toxic for most animals unless fed in limited quantities or unless the meals are prepared by special processes. Raw, oil-free soybean meals are usually toasted to increase their nutritive values. Oil-free peanut meals apparently do not contain a toxic component. The food value of the proteins are comparable however, when compared with animal proteins, the oilseed proteins are found to be deficient in lysine and methionine and probably tryptophan. 

VIII. Peanut Protein in Foods and Feeds 1. Nutritional Value of the Proteins... 

The nutritional value of peanut protein compares favorably with other vegetable proteins however, when compared with animal proteins, peanut protein is found to be deficient in lysine and methionine. 

Minerals. Nuts are considered to be a good source of minerals essential for nutrition, supplying elements of copper, manganese, iron, and sulfur (see Mineral nutrients). The values for the mineral constituents of many nuts shown in Table 2 are averages of available analytical data. Values for the mineral content of the peanut kernel (28) and ash constituents in the macadamia kernel (29) and cashew (26) have also been reported. Chufa nuts have a high sihcon content. 

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