Physico-chemical properties and mineral composition of four cultivar seed flours from Citrullus lanatus (Cucurbitaceae) cultivated in Côte d’Ivoire

This paper reports the physico-chemical properties and mineral composition of four cultivarseed flours fromCitrulluslanatusvar. citroides (Thumb.) Matsum. & Nakai cultivated in Côte d'Ivoire, namely WlewleS, Wlewle M, Wlewle Band Bebu. The crude fat, crude protein, crude fiber, carbohydrateand starch contents from C. lanatusseeds, within the range of 41.48 to 56.08%, 21.78 to 30.42%, 2.56 to 17.14%,10.45 to 26.30% and 7.29 to 20.71%, respectively, varied significantly (p0.05) among the cultivars tested. The levels of moisture, ash, total and reducing sugars in the cultivar seeds tested were found to be 3.60-5.53%, 2.60-3.99%, 2.23-3.28% and 0.95- 1.34%, respectively.The pH and caloric values obtained were 5.71-6.50 and 574.88-651.16 kcal/100g, respectively.The C. lanatusseed flours contains an appreciable value of copper (336.23-1772.97 mg/kg), potassium (264.72-368.51 mg/kg), magnesium (126.94-182.13 mg/kg) and calcium (45.31-60.77 mg/kg). Most of the properties of the seed flours analyzed varied significantly (p0.05) among the cultivars tested.The seed flours produced seems to be interesting for food and pharmaceutical industries.