Nutritional Assessment: Proximate and Mineral Contents of Seed, Flesh and Whole Red Capsicum chinense Pepper

Background and Objective: The consumption of different parts of Capsicum chinense (seed, flesh and both) locally by various people prompted this study to find its nutritional value. Hence, the proximate and mineral contents of each part of this plant were studied in this article. Materials and Methods: The seed and flesh, seed and flesh were separated and oven-dried at 45°C for 5 days, powdered and stored. The proximate analysis was conducted to measure the protein, ash, fiber, crude fat and carbohydrate contents while the mineral analysis was done using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results were calculated using SPSS, One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results: The proximate analysis showed that the flesh had more protein (6.084±0.004* %), when compared to the seed and flesh and seed altogether. The mineral compositions showed that the seed had more sodium (91.60±0.17* mg kg^-1), calcium (232.17±0.15* mg kg^-1), potassium (135.40±0.20** mg kg^-1) and magnesium (14.64±0.01* mg kg^-1) when compared to others. The ratio of Na/K, of the sample values, was <1 and K/(Mg+Ca) showed that they were <2.20. Conclusion: The consumption of either the seed, flesh, or both is safe and nutritious since the data obtained falls within the recommended daily allowance.