BIOCHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL ANALYZES OF ALMONDS FROM ANACARDIUMOC CIDENTALE NUTS (ANACARDIACEAE) FROM COTE DIVOIRE

The present work was devoted to the chemical and biochemical analysis of Anacardiumoc cidentale almonds from Ivory Coast . Dried almonds contain a dry matter content of 96.46 ± 0.53% and 3.53 ± 0.13% water content They give an average oil yield of 22.01 ± 0.85%, in 3 hours of Soxhlet extraction. The seed is a modest source of protein (9.11 ± 0.26%) and contains 62.61 ± 0.46% of carbohydrates.The carbohydrate content gives it an appreciable energy value (573.15 ± 0.77 kcal/100g) which is comparable to that of certain conventional oilseeds whose average is between 550 - 650 kcal/100g of dry matter. Also, this study revealed a total sugar content of 2.01 ± 0.69g/L, in reducing sugars of 0.05 ± 0.02 g/L, and of 0.09 ± 0.01 g/100g in oxalates and 1.61 ± 0.58 mg/100g in phytates. The results obtained clearly show the interesting dispositions of the almonds of Anacardiumoccidentalefrom Cote dIvoire Which gives them potentially nutritional properties.