|
Today is :
Archives (2003)
Save your heart
with nuts
by Junelyn
de la Rosa |
April-June
2003
|
 Nuts
are very nutritious. They are one of the best plant sources
of protein and do not have the dreaded cholesterol. They are
also good sources of fiber; minerals; vitamin E, folacin and
other B vitamins and fat.
The Roman emperors must have known that nuts
are good for the heart since they were the first ones who
declared the nuts off-limits to the commoner. In those days,
the nuts were considered food for the gods and misfortune
would strike anyone who dared eat them. Only the members of
the royalty were given the privilege to partake of this tasty
morsel.
Today, all kinds, shapes and brands of nuts
line the grocery shelves- imported and local ones. Nuts have
become popular because they are very versatile. They can be
eaten as snack, as cheap pulutan or as part of a meal. They
make tasty additions to fruit or vegetable salads, casseroles,
baked breads or muffins, oatmeal, and meat dishes.
 While
nuts are very popular as snack- some people are not familiar
with their health benefits.
Also, fats or oils in nuts are primarily monounsaturated with
some polyunsaturated. Recently, there is more interest and
market for monounsaturated fats because of numerous studies
saying that monounsaturated fats can help lower total blood
cholesterol, especially when substituted for the saturated
fat in meats or other foods.
These fats can also help lower bad cholesterol
without lowering the good cholesterol. In fact, studies have
indicated that people who eat nuts fairly often have a lower
risk of heart disease than those who seldom eat them.
Recognizing the importance and health benefits
of vegetable oils from nuts, scientists from the National
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH)
at UP Los Baños, College, Laguna tested locally available
nuts and seeds for oil and the kind of fatty acids and triglycerides
they contain. Triglyceride is a chemical compound formed from
a molecule of the alcohol glycerol and three molecules of
fatty acids.
The scientists reported that pili (Canarium
ovatum), talisay (Terminalia catappa L.) and cashew (Anacardium
occidentale L.) top the list of local nuts rich in vegetable
oils.
Other nuts tested were: Lumbang (Aleurites
moluccana), Bunga de tsina (Veitchia mernilli), and MacArthur
palm (Phytosperma macarthuri).
 To
evaluate the quality of vegetable oils and identify other
substances present in the extracted oil, the nuts were also
tested for unsaponifiable matter, tocopherols, carotenoids,
and sterols.
Tocopherol is a fat-soluble oily compound with
vitamin-E properties, present in vegetable oils which is important
for growth while sterol is a waxy colorless organic solid
containing an alcohol group and found in animal and plant
lipids. Carotenoid is an organic chemical compound that gives
a yellow, orange, or red color to plants.
Percent oil composition
Oil was extracted from the kernel or pulp of the seeds and
nuts using solvents. Kernels of cashew, lumbang and talisay
were used and pulp for MacArthur palm, both pulp and kernel
were for pili nut and bunga de tsina and seeds for okra.
Pili nut had the highest oil content at 68%
followed by Lumbang at 64%. Talisay and cashew have oil percentages
comparable to other commercial sources while okra has oil
content similar to soybean.
Nuts are very nutritious. They are one of the
best plant sources of protein and do not have the dreaded
cholesterol. They are also good sources of fiber; minerals;
vitamin E, folacin and other B vitamins and fat.
Glyceride and
fatty acid composition
To identify the kind of triglycerides present in the oils
extracted from the samples, the scientists used thin layer
chromatography (TLC). Scientists found that most samples had
90% or more triglycerides while partial glycerides (diglycerides
and monoglycerides) were in trace amounts.
These indicated that the oil content of these
nuts were unsaturated and would not pose any health risks
to consumers. It was also found that most of the oils contained
high levels of unsaturated fatty acids, oleic and linoleic.
This means that oils from these seeds and nuts are polyunsaturated
which make them potential substrates for healthy oils.
If their potential is tapped, this would be
good news not only to health-conscious consumers who cannot
afford the expensive and most likely imported vegetable oil
products found in groceries today but also to enterprising
businessmen who are interested in investing on products that
are good for consumers' health.
Hopefully, vegetable oils from our local nuts
like pili, talisay and cashew will find their way to our local
stores in a couple of years and save more than a couple of
hearts.
Source: Lipid molecular species and fractions
of the oil from local seeds and nuts and their potential applications
by Laura J. Pham, Emmanuel D. Revellame, Precy M. Rasco and
Adora B. Maligaya of the National Institute of Molecular Biology
and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) at UP Los Banos, College, Laguna
at Tel No. 049-536-2725 
[More
2003 Articles]
|
