Influence of variety on protein, fat contents and some physical characteristics of okra seeds

Varietal effects on crude protein. fat contents and some physical properties relevant to dehulling process of five cultivars of okra seeds prepared into ground whole seed, endosperm, defatted and seed coat fractions were investigated. The analyses indicated that varietal difference influenced the proximate composition of okra seeds. The endosperm flour fractions prepared from UI4-30 and VI-104 cultivars were found to have the highest and lowest fat contents of 34% and 22% respectively while defatted flour fractions from V-35 and 47-4 cultivars had the highest and lowest protein contents of 55% and 40% respectively. The cultivar with the highest protein content had the following mean physical properties: diameter of 4.15 +/- 0.34 mm. mass of 0.06 +/- 0.01 g, volume of 0.32 +/- 0.06 cm(3), density of 0.19 +/- 0.04 g/cm(2). surface area of 54.65 +/- 8.86 cm(2) and moisture content of 8% (d.b). However, the cultivar with highest fat content has the following mean physical characteristics: diameter of 4.28 +/- 0.30 mm, mass of 0.06 +/- 0.01 g, volume of 0.32 +/- 0.07 cm(3), density of 0.19 +/- 0.06 g/cm(3), surface area of 58.01 +/- 8.17 cm(2) and moisture content of 9.2% (d.b). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.