PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF AFRICA LOCUST BEAN HULL (PARKIA BIGLOBOSA) SUBJECTED TO DIFFERENT TREATMENT METHODS

Abstract

The proximate composition of Africa Locust bean hull (Parkia biglobosa) subjected to different treatment methods was evaluated. The Parkia biglobosa bean Hull was collected at various processing sites around Itakpe community, air-dried, ground, divided into five portions and respectively treated with molasses, ashes, urea and water (soaking) while the untreated served as the control. It was thereafter fermented in air-tight containers for a period of 14 days. The result showed that the moisture content was statistically similar (P>0.05) among means of samples soaked in water, urea-treated and molasses-treated but differed significantly (P<0.05) from untreated (highest-11.91%) and ash-treated (lowest-8.43%) samples. The moisture content values ranged: 8.43-11.91%. Different trend was noticed for ash contents as the untreated, urea-treated and ash-treated shows no significant difference (P>0.05) but differed from samples soaked in water and molasses-treated, with highest value recorded for water-soaked sample (9.44%) and lowest value in untreated (2.88%). The crude fibre content differs significantly (P<0.05) among means of the treatment methods. The observed highest (49.26%) and lowest (11.11%) values were recorded for untreated and molasses-treated respectively. The protein content obtained values are, viz: Untreated (25.14%),water-treated (26.71%), urea -treated (29.62%), molasses-treated (15.57%) and ash-treated (20.14%).The crude fibre contents for molasses and ash-treated samples revealed the excellent fibre-reducing ability of molasses and ashes with little effects on the crude protein. It is therefore concluded that molasses and ash-treated samples have proven to be a viable option that could be harness for use in non-ruminant diets.