The Mahogany bean also known as “Akparata” (Afzelia africana) seeds were divided into three portions. The first sample coded with R10, R20 and R30 was processed by roasting at 1000C (for 10, 20 and 30 minutes) respectively and second sample of the seeds coded C40, C50 and C60 were cooked at 1000C (for 40, 50 and 60 minutes) respectively while the raw unprocessed (third sample) served as the control. The proximate compositions showed significant difference at (P< 0.05) in some nutrients evaluated. In terms of moisture content, all the cooked samples (C 40, C50 and C60) were higher (28 – 33.5%) than the Control (10.5%) and roasted (4.5 – 6.5%) samples. Also the ash content for the roasted and cooked samples were significantly higher at (P< 0.05) than the control sample (4.0%). The protein content of the raw sample (38.4%) was significantly higher at (P< 0.05) than all the samples treated by roasting and cooking. In terms of fat content, all the roasted samples had higher values (28.0 – 35.5%) than the raw (9.5%) and cooked (7.0- 8.0%) samples which were significantly different at (P< 0.05). The functional properties of the “Akparata” (Afzelia africana) flour with respect to bulk density showed that the roasted samples were higher (0.62 – 0.68g/ml) than the cooked (0.47 -0.54g/ml) and raw (0.60g/ml). In water absorption capacity, all the values obtained in roasted and cooked samples were higher than the control (2.83%). This trend is also similar to oil absorption capacity. With respect to the foaming capacity, the control sample had higher value of (5.66%) when compared to the roasted (0.91 -3.23%) and cooked (1.12 -1.14%) samples. For the viscosity, the raw sample gave the highest value (16cp) when compared to roasted (6 – 10cp) and cooked (5 – 8cp) samples.
Keywords: Akparata seeds, Functional, cooking, roasting
