Original Articles
Abdul-Mumeen I, Zakpaa H. D. a
Abstract
Shea Nut Cake (SNC) is produced in large quantities as a by-product by shea butter producing industries, 24 samples of SNC were obtained from six industries to examine their proximate, minerals and phytochemical constituents using standard methods. The proximate results indicated that the shea nut cake has 13.03 ± 1.70% crude proteins, 59.37 ± 8.66% carbohydrates, 23.38 ± 10.15% crude fat, 4.25 ± 0.79% ash content, 5.29 ± 0.98% moisture and 8.71 ± 0.85% fibre. The Nitrogen, Pot assium, and Magnesium contents of the cake were 2.96 ± 0.39, 4.05 ± 0.62, and 1.43 ± 0.65 mg/kg respectively. T he rest of the minerals were Phosphorus 0.22 ± 0.04 , Sodium 0.40 ± 0.05, Calcium 0.51 ± 0.09, Copper 0.09 ± 0.0 5, Mercury 0.10 ± 0.56 and Lead 0.13 ± 0.07 mg/kg. The phytochemical screening of extracts of the SNC samples revealed that shea nut cake contains saponins, tannins, alkaloids, terpenoids and reducing sugar. The findings of this research highlight the potential uses of the SNC in the therapeutic industry as well as in other industries.