The Major Chemical Constituents and the Amino Acid Make-up of Protein in Naked Pumpkin Seed Cake {Cucurbita pepo}.

Abstract

The dried meal obtained from the solvent extraction of roasted, ground naked pumpkin seeds was chemically analysed for the major constituents. The meal was rich in protein (55.60%), poor in lipids (0.24%) and relatively low in moisture and crude fiber (8.01% and 7.02%, respectively). Determination of the amino acid composition of the meal protein hydrolyzate indicated the predominance of both amino acids, Arginine and Glutamic acid. Nutritionally, the meal is deficient in both Lysine and Threonine while it contained a reasonable sum of Methionine plus Cystine. However, Tryptophane was presented in an amount exceeding that required in a balanced protein.