Peanuts and Their Nutritional Aspects—A Review

Abstract

Peanut is a legume crop that belongs to the family of Fabaceae, genus Arachis, and botanically named as Arachis hypogaea. Peanuts are consumed in many forms such as boiled peanuts, peanut oil, peanut butter, roasted peanuts, and added peanut meal in snack food, energy bars and candies. Peanuts are considered as a vital source of nutrients. Nutrition plays an important role in growth and energy gain of living organisms. Peanuts are rich in calories and contain many nutrients, minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins that are essential for optimum health. All these biomolecules are essential for pumping vital nutrients into the human body for sustaining normal health. This paper presents an overview of the peanut composition in terms of the constituent biomolecules, and their biological functions. This paper also discusses about the relationship between consumption of peanuts and their effect on human metabolism and physiology. It highlights the usefulness of considering peanuts as an essential component in human diet considering its nutritional values.

Share and Cite:

V. Settaluri, C. Kandala, N. Puppala and J. Sundaram, "Peanuts and Their Nutritional Aspects—A Review," Food and Nutrition Sciences, Vol. 3 No. 12, 2012, pp. 1644-1650. doi: 10.4236/fns.2012.312215.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] D. D. Tom, “Earliest-Known Evidence of Peanut, Cotton and Squash Farming Found,” 2007. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/vu-eeo062507.php
[2] G. Yao, “Peanut Production and Utilization in the People’s Republic of China,” 2004. http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/peanuts/pins/documents/ChinaProduction.pdf
[3] Unknown, “Peanuts at the World’s Healthiest Food,” 2007. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=101
[4] FAO, “The spectrum of Malnutrition,” 2000. http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsummit/english/fsheets/malnutrition.pdf
[5] G. H. Pelto and M. Armar-Klemesu, “Balancing Nurturance, Cost and Time: Complementary Feeding in Accra, Ghana,” Maternal & Child Nutrition, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2011, pp. 66-81
[6] USDA, National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 24, 2011.
[7] G. Schaafsma, “The Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score,” Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 130, No. 7, 2000. pp. 1865-1867.
[8] J. R. Hoffmann and M. J. Falvo, “Protein—Which Is Best?” Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2004, pp. 118-130.
[9] A. J. Seal, P. I. Creeke, F. Dibari, E. Cheung, E. Kyroussis, P. Semedo and T. Briel, “Low and Deficient Niacin Status and Pellagra Are Endemic in Postwar Angola,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85, No. 1, 2007, pp. 218-224.
[10] S. N. Young, “Behavioral Effects of Dietary Neurotransmitter Precursors: Basic and Clinical Aspects,” Alternative Medicine Review, Vol. 20, No. 2, 1996, pp. 313-320.
[11] P. Shetty, “Malnutrition and under Nutrition,” Medicine, Vol. 34, No. 12, 2006, pp. 524-529. doi:10.1053/j.mpmed.2006.09.014
[12] S. M. A. El Hassan, N. M. Abdelrazik, A. E. F. Abd ElAziz and R. R. El-Iraqi, “Assessment of the Relation between Trace Elements and Antioxidant Status in Children with Protein Energy Malnutrition,” The Internet Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatology, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2004, pp. 25-36.
[13] E. J. Conkerton and R. L. Ory, “Peanut Proteins as Food Supplements: A Compositional Study of Selected Virginia and Spanish peanuts,” 1976. http://www. food.oregonstate.edu/ref/uken/uken_7.html
[14] T. Sanghvi and J. Murray, “Improving Child Health through Nutrition; The Nutrition 1 Minimum Package,” 1997. http://www.basics.org/documents/pdf/ImprovingChildHealthThroughNutrition.pdf
[15] Food and Nutrition Board, “Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrates, Fiber, Fat, Protein and Amino Acids (Macronutrients),” The National Academy Press, Washington, 2002.
[16] Food composition. http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=2&tax_subject=279&topic_id=1553
[17] S. C. Zeeman, J. Kossmann and A. M. Smith, “Starch: Its Metabolism, Evolution, and Biotechnological Modification in Plants,” Annual Review of Plant Biology, Vol. 61, No. 1, 2010, pp. 209-234. doi:10.1146/annurev-arplant-042809-112301
[18] J. B. German and C. J. Dillard, “Saturated Fats: What Dietary Intake?” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 3, 2004, pp. 550-559.
[19] R. E. Worthington and D. H. Smith, “Modification of Peanut Oil Fatty Acid Composition by Foliar Applications of 2',2'-dimethylsuccinohydrazide (Kylar),” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 22, No. 3, 1974, pp. 507-508. doi:10.1021/jf60193a056
[20] J. S. L. How and C. T. Young, “Comparison of Fatty Acid Content of Imported Peanuts,” Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, Vol. 60, No. 5, 1983, pp. 945-947. doi:10.1007/BF02660204
[21] American Peanut Council, “Nutritional Values, Energy and Fat, Fibre/Minerals/Vitamins/Phytochemicals/Protein.” http://www.peanutsusa.org.uk/Europe/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.page&pid=64
[22] R. Blomhoff, M. H. Carlsen, L. F. Andersen and D. R. Jacobs Jr., “Health Benefits of Nuts: Potential Role of Antioxidants,” British Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 99, No. 2, 2008, pp. 447-448.
[23] X. Gao, P. E. Wilde, A. H. Lichtenstein, O. I. Bermudez, K. L. Tucker, “The Maximal Amount of Dietary AlphaTocopherol Intake in US Adults (NHANES 2001-2002),” Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 136, No. 4, 2006, pp. 1021-1026.
[24] C. M. Alper and R. D. Mattes, “Peanut Consumption Improves Indices of Cardiovascular—Thiamine Disease Risk in Healthy Adults,” Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2003, pp. 133-141.
[25] S. O. Mansoorabadi, C. J. Thibodeaux and H. Liu, “The Diverse Roles of Flavin Coenzymes—Nature’s Most Versatile Thespians,” The Journal of Organic Chemistry, Vol. 72, No. 17, 2007, pp. 6329-6342. doi:10.1021/jo0703092
[26] H. Zhao, X. Yang, R. Zhou and Y. Yang, “Study on Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2 Retention Factors in Vegetables,” Journal of Hygiene Research, Vol. 37, No.1, 2008, pp. 92-96.
[27] D. B. McCormick, “Riboflavin,” In: M. E. Shils, J. A. Olson, M. Shike and A. C. Ross, Eds., Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 9th Edition, Lea & Febiger, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, 1999, pp. 391-400.
[28] R. S. Rivlin, “Riboflavin,” In: E. K. Ziegler and L. J. Filer Eds., Present Knowledge in Nutrition, 7th Edition, International Life Sciences Institute, Washington, 1996, pp. 167-173.
[29] B. G. Brown, X. Q. Zhao, A. Chalt, et al., “Simvastatin and Niacin, Antioxidant Vitamins, or the Combination for the Prevention of Coronary Disease,” The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 345, No. 22, 2001, pp. 1583-1592. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa011090
[30] J. R. Guyton, “Niacin in Cardiovascular Prevention: Mechanisms, Efficacy, and Safety,” Current Opinion in Lipidology, Vol. 18, No. 4, 2007, pp. 415-420. doi:10.1097/MOL.0b013e3282364add
[31] S. Kimura, Y. Furukawa, J. Wakasugi, Y. Ishihara and A. Nakayama, “Antagonism of L(-)pantothenic Acid on Lipid Metabolism in Animals,” Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, Vol. 26, No. 2, 1980, pp. 113-117. doi:10.3177/jnsv.26.113
[32] S. M. Fishman, P. Christian and K. P. West, “The Role of Vitamins in the Prevention and Control of Anemia,” Public Health Nutrition, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2000, pp. 125-150. doi:10.1017/S1368980000000173
[33] S. C. Larsson and A. Wolk, “More Magnesium-Rich Food for Less Diabetes,” Journal of Internal Medicine, Vol. 262, No. 2, 2007, pp. 208-214. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2796.2007.01840.x
[34] S. Miret, R. J. Simpson and A. T. McKie, “Physiology and Molecular Biology of Dietary Iron Absorption,” Annual Review of Nutrition, Vol. 23, 2003, pp. 283-301. doi:10.1146/annurev.nutr.23.011702.073139
[35] Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board, “Dietary Reference. Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium and Zinc,” 2001. www.nutrisci.wisc.edu/NS623/drivitasum.pdf
[36] C. D. Thomson, “Assessment of Requirements for Selenium and Adequacy of Selenium Status: A Review,” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 58, No. 3, 2004, pp. 391-402. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601800
[37] E. Robert, T. Pettit and T. Ruth Ann, “Factors Influencing Aflatoxin Accumulation in Peanut Kernels and the Associated Mycoflora, Appl Microbiol,” Vol. 16, No. 8, 1968, pp. 1230-1234.
[38] M. B. Gideon Lack, F. Deborah and N. Kate, “Factors Associated with the Development of Peanut Allergy in Childhood,” The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 348, No. 11, 2003, pp. 977-985. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa013536
[39] J. H. Kelly, Jr. and J. Sabaté, “Peanuts and Cardiovascular Disease,” British Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 96, No. 2, 2006, pp. 61-67. doi:10.1017/BJN20061865
[40] H. Jennette, “The Potential Role of Peanuts in the Prevention of Obesity,” Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 35, No. 5, 2005, pp. 353-358. doi:10.1108/00346650510625566

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.