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Traditional Fermentation Affects the Nutraceutical Properties of Parkia biglobosa Seeds

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Abstract

Parkia biglobosa seeds (African locust bean) play a crucial role in the diet and health of Western African populations. The seeds are spontaneously fermented to produce condiments used for food seasoning and stews preparation. Hence, to understand the health benefits of seed-based products from P. biglobosa, total polyphenol content, in vitro and ex vivo antioxidant properties, as well as antihypertensive activity, of fermented and non-fermented seeds were investigated. The Folin-Ciocalteu method was used to determine total polyphenol content; 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) tests were used to estimate the in vitro antioxidant activity. The ex vivo antioxidant and antihypertensive activities were evaluated by using cellular antioxidant activity in human red blood cells (CAA-RBC) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity assays, respectively. The fermented seeds showed a huge increase in polyphenol content and in vitro antioxidant activities compared to non-fermented ones. The fermented seeds showed a higher potency of biological antioxidant activity than non-fermented ones by exhibiting greater protection of erythrocytes from oxidative damage at a very low dose of extracts. Both fermented and non-fermented seeds have been shown to contain peptides with ACE-inhibitory activity; however, the non-fermented seeds exerted a higher ACE-inhibitory activity than fermented ones. In conclusion, traditional fermentation positively impacted the nutraceutical and health benefits of P. biglobosa seeds. However, the non-fermented seeds should not be ignored. Both fermented and non-fermented seeds can be used as valuable ingredients for the formulation of functional foods.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Valter Lubrano and Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana (Pisa, Italy) for providing human blood samples and Alfassassi Arouna (University of Lomé, Togo) for providing P. biglobosa seeds from Togo.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100 - 80055, Portici, Naples, Italy

    Nafiou Arouna

  2. Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, Italian National Research Council, Via Moruzzi 1, Pisa, 56124, Italy

    Morena Gabriele, Elena Tomassi & Laura Pucci

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  1. Nafiou Arouna
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  2. Morena Gabriele
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  3. Elena Tomassi
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  4. Laura Pucci
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Author Contributions: Conceptualization: Nafiou Arouna, Morena Gabriele, Laura Pucci; Formal analysis: Nafiou Arouna, Morena Gabriele; Validation: Nafiou Arouna, Morena Gabriele; Investigation, Nafiou Arouna, Elena Tomassi; Data curation, N.A; Writing-original draft preparation, Nafiou Arouna; Writing-review and editing: Morena Gabriele, Laura Pucci; Supervision: Morena Gabriele, Laura Pucci; Project administration: Laura Pucci.

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Correspondence to Morena Gabriele.

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Arouna, N., Gabriele, M., Tomassi, E. et al. Traditional Fermentation Affects the Nutraceutical Properties of Parkia biglobosa Seeds. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 78, 452–457 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-023-01064-8

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