Food Safety and Regulatory Measures

Biography

Biography: Ogunsina Babatunde Sunday

Abstract

The Sub-Sahara African tropics is bountifully blessed with many underutilized oilseeds and legumes which are fast gaining research attention as alternative sources of protein. The impact that climate change places on food production and the prevalence of malnutrition in the region provides impetus for the exploitation of these underutilized seeds and development of appropriate technologies to optimize their potentials as vegetable proteins. In this report, Moringa oleifera is presented as a panacea for malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa; where, though it blossoms, its potentials have not been fully explored. Substantial literatures abound on M. oleifera leaves, flowers and tender immature pods as important vegetables; especially in India and Africa. Hitherto, M. oleifera seeds are known more for its trado-medicinal use and as a material for water clarification; but it is seldom reported as an oilseed protein. Moringa oleifera seeds contain 36.2 g of crude proteins (essentially 23, 17.5, 8, and 8 g/100 g of glutamine, arginine, leucine and cysteine as the major amino acids) and 43.6 g of oleic acid-rich crude fat per 100 g of seeds. The novelty of this report therefore lies’ in the exploitation of M. oleifera seeds as a valuable oil seed and protein enrichment in functional foods products.