Proximate Composition, Mineral Content and Anti-Nutritional Factors of Cashew (Anacadium occidentalis) Apple Waste as Affected by Various Processing Methods
The study was conducted at the Department of Value Addition, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, to evaluate the influence of processing treatments on the proximate composition, mineral profile, and phytochemical properties of Cashew Apple Waste (CAW). Matured, ripe cashew fruits obtained from the cashew plantations of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria were processed after nut detachment; the cashew apple was partitioned into three treatment groups (A, B and C) representing unblanched, blanched, and fermented samples, respectively. Following processing, CAW was sun-dried for 5–7 days until adequately dry. The dried samples were milled to a fine powder, sieved through a 2 mm mesh and analyzed in the laboratory for proximate composition, mineral content, phytochemical screening, and anti-nutritional factors. Proximate analysis indicated that blanched CAW recorded significantly (P<0.05) higher values across all measured parameters, except for moisture content, which remained comparable across treatments. Mineral analysis revealed that Ca2+, Fe2+, Mg2+, K+ and PO4‑ were significantly (P<0.05) highest in blanched CAW. Phytochemical analysis further confirmed that flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, phenolics, saponins, phytates, oxalates, and steroids were all significantly (P<0.05) higher in blanched CAW. The study concludes that blanching coupled with mechanical juice extraction optimizes the nutritional and phytobiotic quality of CAW, making it the most suitable processing approach for its use as a livestock feed supplement.
Keywords: Cashew Apple Waste, Proximate Analysis, Mineral Composition, Phytochemical Screening.
