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Quantification of fatty acid and mineral levels of selected seeds, nuts, and oils in Northern Ghana

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify locally available foods that can be utilized by Northern Ghanaians to improve child growth status. An assortment of seeds, nuts and oils were collected from a local market, packaged in plastic containers, and shipped to the US for all analyses. Fatty acids (FAs) were extracted and derivatized to FA methyl esters prior to quantification by GC/MS. ANOVA were conducted on FA concentrations and Tukey’s post hoc test was used to compare FA content. Food grade oils, particularly palm oil and shea butter, contained higher saturated and monounsaturated FAs than seeds or nuts. Soybean, was significantly higher in the essential omega-3 FA alpha-linolenic acid (2.98 mg/g), whereas neri seed (68.4 mg/g) and fermented dawadawa (seed; 56.3 mg/g) had significantly higher amounts of total polyunsaturated FAs than all other foods. Iron levels in soybean (353 mg/kg), neri (282 mg/kg) and fermented dawadawa (165 mg/kg) were also the highest of all foods. Together, these foods may be useful for future intervention to curb stunting and iron-deficiency anemia.

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Abbreviations

AA:

Arachidonic acid

ALA:

Alpha-linolenic acid

AOAC:

Association of analytical communities

BAB:

Baobab seed

BHT:

Butylated hydroxytoluene

DAW:

Dawadawa

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

EPA:

Eicosapentaenoic acid

EFA:

Essential fatty acid

FAME:

Fatty acid methyl esters

FA:

Fatty acid

FDD:

Fermented dawadawa

GC/MS:

Gas chromatography mass spectrometry

GLA:

Gamma-linolenic acid

HSD:

Honest significant difference

LLOQ:

Lower limit of quantification

LA:

Linoleic acid

MUFA:

Monounsaturated fatty acid

NER:

Neri

n-3:

Omega-3

n-6:

Omega-6

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid

PAL:

Palm oil

PKO:

Palm kernel oil

PNT:

Peanut

RT:

Room temperature

SAM:

Sesame seed

SIM:

Selective ion monitoring

SHB:

Shea butter

SOY:

Soybean

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Scott Smith for his assistance with GC/MS and MSU’s Mass Spectrometry and Metabolomic Core Facility. We would also like to acknowledge Miss Jessica Ayensu for assisting with shipping of samples from Kumasi to Michigan State University for analysis.

Funding

This work was supported by Borlaug Higher Education in Agricultural Research Development (BHEARD) of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) [CGA BFS-G-11-00002].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, 208B G.M. Trout Bldg, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Mary Adjepong, Raghav Jain, C. Austin Pickens & Jenifer I. Fenton

  2. Department of Food Science and Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    William Appaw

Authors
  1. Mary Adjepong
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  2. Raghav Jain
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  3. C. Austin Pickens
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  4. William Appaw
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  5. Jenifer I. Fenton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jenifer I. Fenton.

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Adjepong, M., Jain, R., Pickens, C.A. et al. Quantification of fatty acid and mineral levels of selected seeds, nuts, and oils in Northern Ghana. J Food Sci Technol 55, 4615–4622 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-018-3400-y

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