Nutritional and oil characterization of Erythrina stricta Roxb. seeds: a potential resource for functional foods

Abstract

Erythrina stricta Roxb., an underutilized legume species native to the Indian subcontinent, is traditionally employed in various medicinal applications. This study systematically examines the nutritional quality, encompassing proximate and mineral composition of E. stricta seeds, with a focus on characterizing the seed oil. The seeds exhibit commendable proximate composition, with 26.81% protein and 18.71% fibre. Noteworthy mineral elements include 5.0 mg/g DW of calcium and 787.0, 32.7, 36.8 and 497.0 µg/g of iron, copper, boron and zinc, respectively. The seeds yield 13.43% oil, with oleic, palmitic, linoleic and stearic acids as prominent fatty acids, constituting 48.82%, 20.63%, 20.27% and 6.47%, respectively. Antinutrients such as oxalate and phytate are present in concentrations of 26.85 and 16.04 mg/g FW, respectively. In conclusion, this study underscores E. stricta seeds as a robust source of both nutrients and oil, warranting further exploration and consideration for potential applications.

Keywords:

• Erythrina stricta
• underutilized legume
• seed oil
• phytochemical analysis

Reviewing editor:

• M. Luisa Escudero-Gilete, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain

Subjects:

• Nutrition
• Food Chemistry
• Botany

Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the University Scientific and Instruments Centre (USIC), Karnatak University, Dharwad, for giving the instrument facility. The authors acknowledge the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP-2024R375), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, HNM and GGY.; methodology, HNM, GGY, SSK and SL; software, ASD and MMS; formal analysis, HNM, GGY, SSK, MMS, ASD and SL; investigation, HNM, GGY, SSK, SL, MMS and ASD.; resources, HNM; data curation, HNM, GGY, SSK, SL and MMS.; writing – original draft preparation, HNM and GGY; writing – review and editing, HNM, YHD and KMT; validation, ASD, YHD and KMT; visualization, YHD and KMT. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Data availability statement

Data and materials supporting the results or analyses ­presented in our paper are available upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

HNM was supported by the Brain Pool Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (Grant No. 2022H1D3A2A02056665). The authors acknowledge the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP-2024R375), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Notes on contributors

Hosakatte Niranjana Murthy

Hosakatte Niranjana Murthy was a Professor at the Department of Botany, Karnatak University, India, currently working as a Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, KLE Technological University, Hubballi, India, and Brain Pool Fellow at the Department of Horticulture, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea. He is a researcher in the field of Plant Sciences and is involved in teaching graduate and master students.

Guggalada Govardhana Yadav

Guggalada Govardhana Yadav is a Research Scholar at the Department of Botany, Karnatak University, India.

Sathish Shekhappa Kadapatti

Sathish Shekhappa Kadapatti is a Research Scholar at the Department of Botany, Karnatak University, India.

Shrinivas Lamani

Shrinivas Lamani is a Research Scholar at the Department of Botany, Karnatak University, India.

Anita S. Desai

Anita S. Desai is a Master’s student at the Department of Botany, Karnatak University, India.

Megha M. Sumbad

Megha M. Sumbad is a Master’s student at the Department of Botany, Karnatak University, India.

Yaser Hassan Dewir

Yaser Hassan Dewir is a professor at King Saud Univ., Saudi Arabia and Kafrelsheikh Univ., Egypt. He received his MSc from South China Agricultural Univ. (SCAU) China and Ph.D. from Chungbuk National Univ. (CBNU), Korea. He carried out Postdoc. studies in CBNU, Korea and University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa. His research interests including cell and tissue culture, plant biology and biotechnology.

Katalin Magyar-Tábori

Katalin Magyar-Tábori is a professor at Research Institute of Nyíregyháza, Institutes for Agricultural Research and Educational Farm (IAREF), University of Debrecen, Nyiregyháza, Hungary.