19.5 Antinutritional Factors
The antinutritional factors (ANFs) may be defined as “metabolic compounds”
synthesized in plants to protect against insects. The different mechanisms are
involved in the generation of these secondary metabolites viz. inactivation of some
nutrients, metabolic utilization of feed, or diminution of the digestive process, which
can result in undesirable physiological effects (Emire et al. 2013; Khokhar and
Owusu Apenten 2003). ANFs have been reported to show negative effects such as
reduced digestion of nutrients, decreased bioavailability of minerals, and inhibition
of the enzymatic activity of several digestive enzymes (Tanwar et al. 2018, 2019a).
However, recent numerous studies have supported the beneficial effects of ANFs
such as antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant activities, if consumed at lower concentrations, and thus, are termed as phytonutrients (Tanwar et al. 2019b). Also, the
processing treatments like soaking, fermentation, blanching, roasting, steaming, and
extrusion may affect the level of antinutrients in these foods (Khokhar and Owusu
Apenten 2003; Sihag et al. 2015). The concentration of several antinutritional factors
in pumpkin seed flour is shown in Table 19.5.
Table 19.4 Mineral content of pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita pepo)
Mineral
mg/100 g (Elinge et al. 2012)
mg/100 g (Aliu et al. 2016)
Potassium
273.00
4646.05
Sodium
170.00
NR
Calcium
9.78
106.74
Magnesium
67.41
NR
Phosphorus
47.68
NR
Iron
3.75
5.39
Cobalt
2.17
ND
Manganese
0.06
NR
Zinc
14.14
7.91
ND not detected, NR not reported
Table 19.5 Antinutritional factors in Cucurbita pepo seeds (g/100 g of dry matter)
Antinutritional factors
Seed flour (El-Adawy and
Taha 2001)
Defatted seed meal (Atuonwu and
Akobundu 2010)
Raffinose
0.29 Æ 0.13
0.80
Stachyose
0.52 Æ 0.19
3.00
Verbascose
0.23 Æ 0.10
NR
Phytate
2.37 Æ 0.29
0.44
Tannins
0.17 Æ 0.09
0.69
Trypsin inhibitor (TIU /g
of protein)
1.39 Æ 0.19
2.07
Saponin
NR
0.56
Hydrogen cyanide
(mg/100 g)
NR
4.08
NR not reported
19 Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) Seed
481
The antinutritional factors (ANFs) may be defined as “metabolic compounds”
synthesized in plants to protect against insects. The different mechanisms are
involved in the generation of these secondary metabolites viz. inactivation of some
nutrients, metabolic utilization of feed, or diminution of the digestive process, which
can result in undesirable physiological effects (Emire et al. 2013; Khokhar and
Owusu Apenten 2003). ANFs have been reported to show negative effects such as
reduced digestion of nutrients, decreased bioavailability of minerals, and inhibition
of the enzymatic activity of several digestive enzymes (Tanwar et al. 2018, 2019a).
However, recent numerous studies have supported the beneficial effects of ANFs
such as antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant activities, if consumed at lower concentrations, and thus, are termed as phytonutrients (Tanwar et al. 2019b). Also, the
processing treatments like soaking, fermentation, blanching, roasting, steaming, and
extrusion may affect the level of antinutrients in these foods (Khokhar and Owusu
Apenten 2003; Sihag et al. 2015). The concentration of several antinutritional factors
in pumpkin seed flour is shown in Table 19.5.
Table 19.4 Mineral content of pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita pepo)
Mineral
mg/100 g (Elinge et al. 2012)
mg/100 g (Aliu et al. 2016)
Potassium
273.00
4646.05
Sodium
170.00
NR
Calcium
9.78
106.74
Magnesium
67.41
NR
Phosphorus
47.68
NR
Iron
3.75
5.39
Cobalt
2.17
ND
Manganese
0.06
NR
Zinc
14.14
7.91
ND not detected, NR not reported
Table 19.5 Antinutritional factors in Cucurbita pepo seeds (g/100 g of dry matter)
Antinutritional factors
Seed flour (El-Adawy and
Taha 2001)
Defatted seed meal (Atuonwu and
Akobundu 2010)
Raffinose
0.29 Æ 0.13
0.80
Stachyose
0.52 Æ 0.19
3.00
Verbascose
0.23 Æ 0.10
NR
Phytate
2.37 Æ 0.29
0.44
Tannins
0.17 Æ 0.09
0.69
Trypsin inhibitor (TIU /g
of protein)
1.39 Æ 0.19
2.07
Saponin
NR
0.56
Hydrogen cyanide
(mg/100 g)
NR
4.08
NR not reported
19 Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) Seed
481