Strychnos madagascariensis Poir is an underutilized fruit that is considered a valuable food during droughts and famine. The aim of this research was to characterize the nutritional composition and the flour functional properties, for the use as a potential food source. Seed flour was analysed using a standard enzymatic assay for sugars, acid/neutral detergent analysis for fibre, ether extraction for fat and HPLC for strychnine. Results showed that the seeds contained 41% reducing sugars and 53% fibre. The mineral composition, determined using microwave-assisted acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP–OES), showed that the seeds contained high quantities of iron (15.78 mg/100 g) and manganese (9.86 mg/100 g). The flour water absorption index (1.37 g/g) was substantially higher than that of wheat, brown rice and tapioca flours and the oil absorption index showed similarities to the reference flours (1.09 g/g). The flour peak (37,788 RVU) and final viscosities (62,928 RVU) were significantly (p < 0.001) higher than the reference flours. This study was the first to quantify the strychnine content (0.08%) in the seeds. Results suggest that the seeds have good potential for food product development; however, further processing is essential to ensure safety for consumption.

中文翻译：

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马达加斯加马钱子（黑猴橙）种子作为潜在食物来源的营养和理化特征。

马钱子是一种未得到充分利用的水果，在干旱和饥荒期间被认为是宝贵的食物。这项研究的目的是表征面粉的营养成分和功能特性，以用作潜在的食物来源。使用标准酶法分析糖类、酸/中性洗涤剂分析纤维、醚提取脂肪和 HPLC 分析士的宁。结果显示，种子含有 41% 的还原糖和 53% 的纤维。使用微波辅助酸消解和电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法 (ICP-OES) 测定的矿物成分表明，种子含有大量铁 (15.78 毫克/100 克) 和锰 (9.86 毫克/100 克)。面粉吸水指数（1.37 g/g）显着高于小麦粉、糙米粉和木薯粉，吸油指数与参考面粉（1.09 g/g）相似。面粉峰值 (37,788 RVU) 和最终粘度 (62,928 RVU) 显着 ( p < 0.001) 高于参考面粉。这项研究首次量化了种子中的士的宁含量（0.08%）。结果表明，这些种子具有良好的食品开发潜力；然而，进一步加工对于确保消费安全至关重要。