TITLE:
Physical, Total Phenolic and Total Flavonoid Properties of Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) Seeds Grown in Kenya
AUTHORS:
Pauline W. Ikumi, Monica Mburu, Daniel Njoroge, Nicholas Gikonyo, Benjamin Musyimi Musingi
KEYWORDS:
Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) Seeds, Properties
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.13 No.12,
December
29,
2022
ABSTRACT: In the recent past, there has been an increased uptake of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica L.) by consumers
resulting in the increased adoption of chia farming, particularly in Kenya whereby most farmers
are practicing subsistence farming and a few farming it commercially. The
widespread farming of chia seeds in Kenya translates to increase uptake at
household level while offering a niche for industrial processing of chia seeds necessitating the need for
studies on physical, total phenolic and flavonoid properties of chia seeds
grown in Kenya. The physical, total phenolic and flavonoid properties of chia
seeds from two chia planting seasons April to August 2019 and September to
December 2019 were evaluated. The physical attributes (length, width and thickness) were determined using a
digital vernier caliper while proximate components were determined using AOAC
standard methods. The Quencher procedure was used to determine the total
phenolic and flavonoid contents. Chia seeds revealed a length of 1.82 to 2.32 (mm), a width of 1.15 to 1.31 (mm) and a thickness of 0.77 to 0.88 (mm). The percentage moisture
content of chia seeds was 7.23 to 10.67, the percentage
of crude fat was 31.48 to 42.45, the percentage of crude ash was
3.63 to 6.82, and the percentage of crude fibre was 30.95 to 38.65
and the percentage of crude protein was17.82 to 28.97.
The total phenolic content observed for chia seeds was 0.73 to 0.87 mg GAE g?1 while the total
flavonoid content was 0.39 to 0.57 mg GAE g?1. The proximate components
of chia seeds varied significantly (p the chia planting season while the physical
properties, total phenolics and total flavonoid contents did not vary
significantly.