Question

How to calculate protein content in groundnut plant?

Answer 1

Proximate, physico-chemical and elemental analysis of groundnut were determined. The results showed that the groundnut oil contained 47.00% fat, 38.61% protein, 5.80% moisture, 1.81% carbohydrate, 3.70% crude fibre and 3.08% ash. Minerals (mg/100g) included: Na (42.00±0.71), K (705.11±0.86), Mg (3.98±0.04), Ca (2.28±1.94), Fe (6.97±1.62), Zn (3.20±0.11), P (10.55±0.68). The physico-chemical characteristics showed; saponification value, 193.20mgKOH/g, iodine value 38.71 (g/100g), acid value 5.99 (mgKOH/g), free fatty acid (mgKOH/g) 3.01 peroxide value 1.50 (meq/kg) and refractive index 1.449. The predominant fatty acid was found to be oleic acid (41.11%). The groundnut can thus be considered as a good source of protein with high nutritional value.