Z. Ern&hrungswiss.

19, 47-49 (1980)

9 1980 Dr. Dietrich Steinkopff Verlag, Darmstadt
ISSN 0044-264 X

National Research Centre, Dokl~, Cairo (Egypt)

C h e m i c a l and n u t r i t i o n a l s t u d i e s on r o s e l l e s e e d s
( H i b i s c u s s a b d a r i f f a L.)

M. S. S a m y
With 1 table

(Received May 12, 1979)

R o s e l l e p l a n t ( H i b i s c u s s a b d a r i f f a L.) is c u l t i v a t e d i n E g y p t i n s m a l l
a r e a s i n d i f f e r e n t l o c a t i o n s . T h i s p l a n t is o f g r e a t i m p o r t a n c e a s m u l t i -
p u r p o s e e c o n o m i c o n e . R o s e U e p l a n t is g r o w n f o r i t s c a l y x , p i g m e n t s ,
f i b r e s a n d oil, t h e r o s e l l e f i b r e is s u p e r i o r t o t h a t of j u t e . I t s s e e d s a s
r e p o r t e d b y G e o r g i ( 4 ) a n d S h a w (10) h a d h i g h oil c o n t e n t w h i c h is s i m i l a r
t o k a p o k a n d c o t t o n s e e d oil. T h i s p l a n t i n c r e a s i n g i n i m p o r t a n c e h a s a
p r o m i s i n g f u t u r e , a n d t h e r e is p o s s i b i l i t y o f g r o w i n g r o s e l l e i n r e c l a m a t i o n
zones.
Now the quantities of roselle seeds produced which are not used for
r e c u l t i v a t i o n a r e of n o e c o n o m i c v a l u e . T h i s d r a w s a t t e n t i o n f o r e v a l u a t i n g
these seeds for their chemical composition and nutritional value before
a n d a f t e r e x t r a c t i n g t h e i r oil c o n t e n t . S o m e c o n s t a n t s of t h e r o s e l l e s e e d oil
were also determined.

Material and methods

Roselle seeds (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) were crushed and coarsely ground, then
extracted with ethyl ether for separating the oil from the meal according to A,O.A.C.
(1).
Chemical analyses for the unextracted and extracted ground seeds were con-
ducted for determining moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, nitrogen-free
extract, ash and calcium respectively (A.O.A.C., 1). P h o s p h o r u s and sulfur were
evaluated according to Totfi et al. (12).
F e e d i n g values of the u n e x t r a c t e d and extracted roselle seeds were determined
b y conducting digestibility trials on four Rhode Island Red cocks using corn as
basal ration according to S e l i m (9), where fecal protein was determined directly in
the excreta according to the m e t h o d of Jakobsen et al. (6). Deproteinizing with
trichloroacetic acid, urinary nitrogen was determined by difference (excreta N-fe-
cal N). F e e d i n g values were calculated from the digestible nutrients as total digesti-
ble nutrients (TDN) in the usual m a n n e r (Maynard and Loosli, and Morrison, 8) and
as starch value (SV) using the conversion factors cited by Ghoneim (5), i.e., 1.03,
3.11, 1.00 and 1.00 for units of crude protein, crude fat, nitrogen-free extract and
crude fiber respectively. The deduction of crude fiber was 0.30 unit of starch value
for each 1% crude fiber. Metabolizable energy (ME) was calculated for the unex-
tracted and extracted ground roselle seeds b y multiplying (TDN) figures by the
factor 4.2 as suggested by T/tus and Fritz (11).
F a t extracted from ground roselle seeds was dried at 100 ~ then iodine absorp-
tion number, saponification number, Reichert-Meissel and Polenske values deter.
m i n e d according to A.O.C.S. (2).
590
48 Zeitschris fiir Erniihrungswissenschas Band 19, H e R 1 (1880)

Results and discussion

(I) C h e m i c a l c o m p o s i t i o n a n d nutritive values of u n e x t r a c t e d a n d
e x t r a c t e d roselle seeds.
Table 1 s h o w s the c h e m i c a l c o m p o s i t i o n , digested nutrients a n d nutri-
tive values of u n e x t r a c t e d a n d e x t r a c t e d g r o u n d roselle seeds. F o r the
u n e x t r a c t e d seeds the values of c r u d e protein, digestible c r u d e protein,
total digestible n u t r i e n t s (TDN), s t a r c h value (SV) a n d calculated m e t a b o -
lizable e n e r g y w e r e 23.95%, 15.36%, 75.81%, 84.06% a n d 3184 kcal/kg, the
c o r r e s p o n d i n g values for the e x t r a c t e d seeds w e r e 29.04%, 27.50%, 68.83%,
64.23% a n d 2891 kcal/kg. The h i g h e r nutritive values of the u n e x t r a c t e d
seeds t h a n t h e e x t r a c t e d ones are d u e to the h i g h e r p e r c e n t a g e of fat in t h e
u n e x t r a c t e d seeds. F o r the u n e x t r a c t e d seed the h i g h e r value of starch
value (SV) t h a n the total digestible nutrients (TDN) is d u e to the high
c o r r e c t i o n factor of fat, i.e., 3.11 cited b y G h o n e l m (5) for c o m p u t i n g the
starch value. Generally the roselle seeds are h i g h in fat, protein a n d
nutritive values, also the e x t r a c t e d seeds are a g o o d s o u r c e of digestible
p r o t e i n a n d total digestible nutrients. I n this c o n n e c t i o n G e o r g i (4) a n d
S h a w (10) r e p o r t e d that roselle seeds h a d h i g h oil c o n t e n t w h i c h is similar
to k a p o k a n d c o t t o n s e e d oil.
(II) Roselle seed oil constants.
The values of iodine n u m b e r , i.e., the n u m b e r of g r a m s of iodine
a b s o r b e d u n d e r s t a n d a r d c o n d i t i o n s b y 100 g m of fat, the saponification
n u m b e r , i.e., the n u m b e r of milligrams of p o t a s s i u m h y d r o x i d e r e q u i r e d to
s a p o n i f y 1 g m of fat, R e i c h e r t - M e i s s e l value, i.e., the w a t e r soluble volatile
fatty acids in the fat a n d the P o l e n s k e value, i.e., the water-insoluble fatty

Table 1. Chemical composition, digested nutrients and nutritive values of unex-

tracted and extracted roselle seeds (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.).

Items Unextracted Extracted

seeds seeds

Chemical composition
Moisture % 7.58 8.18
Crude protein % 23.95 29.04
Ether extract % 22.34 0.69
Nitrogen-free extract % 23.81 32.86
Crude fiber % 15.30 20.04
Ash % 7.02 9.19
Calcium % 0.31 0.41
Phosphorus % 0.60 0.79
Sulfur % 0.35 0.37
Digested nutrients
Crude protein % 15.36 27.50
Ether extract % 14.40 0.68
Nitrogen-free extract % 22.52 32.51
Crude fiber % 5.53 7.29
Nutritive values
Total digestible nutrients (TDN) % 75.81 66.83
Starch value (SV) % 84.06 64.23
Calculated metabolizable energy kcaYkg 3184 2891
 Samy, Chemical and nutritional studies on roselle seeds 49

a c i d s i n t h e f a t a s d e f i n e d b y C o c k a n d V a n (3) a n d W i l l a m s (13) o f t h e
roseUe seed oil are listed below.
The above values are of particular importance in the examination of the
fats and oils giving valuable information with regard to adulteration.
Iodine number 15.63
Saponification number 258
Reichert-Meissel value 1.75
Polenske value 1.14
Summary
U n e x t r a c t e d a n d e x t r a c t e d r o s e l l e s e e d s ( H i b i s c u s s a b d a r i f f a L.) w e r e a n a l y s e d
for d e t e r m i n i n g m o i s t u r e , c r u d e p r o t e i n , e t h e r e x t r a c t , n i t r o g e n - f r e e e x t r a c t , c r u d e
fiber, ash, c a l c i u m , p h o s p h o r u s a n d sulfur.
D i g e s t i b i l i t y trials w i t h c o c k s s h o w e d t h a t t h e d i g e s t i b l e c r u d e p r o t e i n , t o t a l
d i g e s t i b l e n u t r i e n t s , s t a r c h v a l u e a n d c a l c u l a t e d m e t a b o l i z a b l e e n e r g y for t h e
u n e x t r a c t e d r o s e l l e s e e d s w e r e 15.36%, 75.81%, 84.06% a n d 3184 k c a l / k g r e s p e c t i -
vely, t h e c o r r e s p o n d i n g v a l u e s for t h e e x t r a c t e d s e e d s w e r e 27.50%, 68.83%, 64.23%
a n d 2891 k c a l / k g .
Iodine number, saponification number, Reichert-Meissel and Polenske values
for t h e r o s e l l e s e e d oil w e r e 15.63, 258, 1.75 a n d 1.14 r e s p e c t i v e l y .

Zusammenfassung
Nicht extrahierte u n d extrahierte Rosellesamen (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) wurden
zur Errnittlung yon Feuchtigkeit, Rohprotein, Atherextrakt, stickstofffreiem
Extrakt, Rohfasern, Asehe, Calcium, Phosphor u n d Schwefel analysiert.
Verdauungsversuche mit H ~ _ n c h e n haben gezeigt: Verdaubares Rohprotein,
gesamte verdaubare N~hrstoffe, Stiirkewert u n d kalkulierteWerte ftirmetabolisier-
bare Energie fiir die nicht extrahierten Rosellesamen waren: 15,86%, 75,81%,
84,06% u n d 8184 kcal/kg entsprechend. Die entsprechenden Werte f~r die extrahier-
ten Sarnen waren: 27,50%, 68,83%, 64,23% u n d 2891 kcal/kg.
Iodnummer, Verseifungsnummer, Reiehert-Meissel- u n d Polenske-Werte ffir
Rosellesamen-Ol waren: 15,68%, 258, 1,75 u n d 1,14 entsprechend.

l~eferences
1. A.O.A.C., OfficialMethods of Analysis 8th edn, Association of OfficialAgricul-
tural Chemists, Washington 4, D. C. (1955). - 2. A.O.C.S., Official and Tentative
Methods of the American Oil Chemists Society 508 South Sixth Street,Champaign,
Illinois61820 (1973).- 3. Cocks, L. V., Rede, C. Van: Laboratory H a n d b o o k For Oil
A n d F a t A n a l y s i s . ( L o n d o n a n d N e w Y o r k 1966). - 4. Georgi, C. D. V.: RoseUe S e e d
Oil ( H i b i s c u s s a b d a r i f f a L.), M a l a g a n . Agric. J. 11,284 Cit. C h e m . A b s t r . 19, 1503,
1925 (1923). - 5. G h o n e i m , A.: An/u~al N u t r i t i o n , P r i n c i p a l s a n d F e e d i n g . (Cairo
E g y p t [ A r a b i c R e f e r e n c e ] (1964). - 6. J a k o b s e n , P. 79., Gertovog, I,;., Nlelsen, H.:
F o r d o ] e l i g h e d s f o o r o g r e e d fjerkrae. 322 b e r e t n i n g fra f o r s 0 g s l a b o r a t o r i e t (1960). - 7.
Maynard, L. A., Loos11, Jr. K.: A n i m a l N u t r i t i o n ( N e w Y o r k 1969). - 8 . Morrlson, F. B.:
F e e d s a n d F e e d i n g : ( I t h a c a , N. Y. 1961). - 9. Selim, A. F. 1:).: S o m e n u t r i t i o n a l a n d
m a n a g e r i a l f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g g r o w t h a n d f e e d c o n v e r s i o n i n broilers. P H . D . T h e s i s
Fac. Agric. C a i r o U n i v . (1971). - 10. S h a w , F. J. F.: R e p o r t of t h e i m p e r i a l e c o n o m i c
b o t a n i s t . P u s a , Sci. Rep. 30, 10-32. (1929) Cit.: C h e m . Abstr. 25, 3860 (1931). - 11.
Titus, H. W:, Fritz, J. C.: T h e S c i e n t i f i c F e e d i n g of C h i c k e n s . 5 t h edn, (Danville,
Illionis. 1971). - 12. Toth, S. J., Prl~ce, A. L., Wallace, A., 1VHkkelsen, 19. S.: R a p i d
q u a n t a t i v e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of e i g h t m i n e r a l e l e m e n t s i n p l a n t t i s s u e b y a s y s t e m a t i c
p r o c e d u r e i n v o l v i n g u s e of f l a m e p h o t o m e t e r . Soil Sci. 66, 459-66 (1948). - 13.
Willams, K. A.: Oils, F a t s a n d F a t t y F o o d s , T h e i r P r a c t i c a l E x a m i n a t i o n . 4 t h ed.
L o n d o n J. & A. C h u r c h i l l Ltd. (1966).

Author's address:
M. S. Sam5,, D e p a r t m e n t of A n i m a l P r o d u c t i o n , N a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h C e n t r e , D o k k i ,
Cairo, (Egypt).