Vol. 4, Issue 2, Part A (2022)

Seed coats wastes produced during processing of Cucurbitaceae seed for human diet could be used in animal feed, and their value relies on their nutritional content. High dry mater (86.60 ± 0.54-87.26 ± 0.30%), carbohydrate (23.32 ± 0.36-25.19 ± 0.78%), protein (10.06 ± 0.01-18.81 ± 0.01%), lipid (14.51 ± 0.28-18.86 ± 0.86%), fibers (51.48 ± 0.24-60.87 ± 1.51%) and glutamic acid (5.65 ± 0.00-6.44 ± 0.00) were found in the seed coat of cucumis melo and Cucumeropsis mannii. Moreover, the high level of total phenolic content (150.30–207.36 mg GAE/100 g) may reveal important antioxidant properties of the seed coat. Levels of macro-elements such as Phosphorus (326.66 ± 15.27-400.00 ± 10.00 mg/100g), potassium (1931.44 ± 2.64-2206.00 ± 2.64 mg/100g), calcium (2941.00 ± 1.00-3596.00 ± 0.57mg/100g) and magnesium (54.50 ± 1.00-329.33 ± 0.57 mg/100g), and also micro-elements such as Iron (8.35 ± 0.00-9.50 ± 0.00 mg/100g), copper (4.54 ± 0.00-5.14 ± 0.00 mg/100g), manganese (5.71 ± 0.00-5.87 ± 0.00 mg/100g), sodium (14.21 ± 0.00-17.93 ± 0.00 mg/100g) and zinc (19.11 ± 0.00-24.57 ± 0.00 mg/100g) displayed the potential of the seed coats as mineral source. The presence of anti-nutrient like tannins (43.63 ± 0.48-57.73 ± 0.97%) and phytate (15.51 ± 0.51%) may be reduced to safe level through fermentation, autoclaving and soaking before feeds formulation. This study displayed the variability in the nutritional and anti-nutritional factors contents of the seed coats obtained from the cucumis melo and Cucumeropsis mannii. 
Vegetable waste, when properly managed, could provide a source of feed for animal thus reducing feeding cost and in this regards seed coat of Cucurbitaceae seed might be an alternative.