Proximate analysis of shea nut kernel cake/meal samples from industry and cottage industry and some methods of removal of anti-nutritional factors

Shea nut kernel cake (SNC), a major by-product of the shea industry, is rich in carbohydrates and protein, but the presence of anti-nutritional factors, mainly theobromine and tannins, limits its use as animal feed material. The present work studied variations in the chemical composition of SNC from different shea nut processing industries in Ghana. Additionally, the work evaluated the effectiveness of physical treatments (T1 water-soaked overnight, strained and dried; T2 washed with flowing water and dried; T3 water-soaked, kneaded, squeezed in jute bag and then dried; T4 boiled and dried) and chemical treatments (T5 wetted with NaOH solution and dried; T6 – wetted with NaCl solution and then dried) for eliminating or reducing total tannins and theobromine in SNC. Compositional analysis showed that SNC was high in protein (116 to 178 g/kg dry matter (DM) and crude fat (25 to 545 g/kg DM). The increasing order for the effectiveness of the treatments in reducing the tannin content of SNC was as follows: T0<T6<T2=T3<T1< T4=T5. The T5 was found to be the most effective treatment in significantly reducing total tannins and theobromine content of SNC (by 69.9 and 25% respectively) thus improving its nutritional value as a livestock feedstuff.