Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Variation in physicochemical and morphological characteristics of safou (Dacryodes edulis (G. Don) H. J. Lam) fruits: Classification and identification of elite trees for industrial exploitation

Author(s):

Alain Serges Ondo-Azi ¹, Crépin Ella Missang ^{1 *}, Samuel Nsikabaka ², Thomas Silou ², Jean Claude Chalchat ³

Recieved Date: 2014-01-26, Accepted Date: 2014-03-30

Abstract:

Safous (Dacryodes edulis fruits) picked on 213 safou trees in Franceville, southeast Gabon, were characterised for their physicochemical and morphological traits. All physicochemical parameters studied, including moisture, lipid, carbohydrate, protein, ash and fatty acids, showed high tree-to-tree variation. Fatty acids order in pulp oils allowed to distinguish four profiles, one of them, designated Profile I, being by far the most represented (recorded on 184 trees, about 86% of the population). Nevertheless, oil obtained by mixing all pulps showed good physicochemical properties, suggesting that safou could be a useful raw material for the lipid industry. Morphological traits including mass, length and width of fruits also showed high tree-to-tree variations. One class, designated class 3A, composed of large-size fruit with high lipid content, was most attractive for oil industry. This class could be used as elite trees to develop cultivar for industrial oil exploitation.

Keywords:

Safou, oil, chemical characteristics, morphological characteristics, classification, multivariate statistics

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2014
Volume: 12
Issue: 2
Category: Food and Health
Pages: 212-217

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