IMPROVING THE NUTRITIVE-VALUE OF NIGERIAN RUBBER KERNEL (HEVEA-BRASILIENSIS) PRODUCTS THROUGH PROCESSING .1. CHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION

Rubber seeds were decorticated and the resulting kernels processed by sun-drying, oven-drying, roasting, autoclaving, and soaking. The meals (full-fat and fat-extracted) were analysed for proximate components, gross energy (GE), and amino acid contents. The acid-ether extract fra ctions of rubber kernel meal were analysed for fatty acid constituents . Mean GE of full-fat rubber kernel meal was 27.6 MJ kg(-1) dry matter (DM) while crude protein content ranged from 168 to 223 g kg(-1) in t he full-fat samples with the corresponding values for the fat-extracte d samples being 285-362 g kg(-1). Amino acid profile of rubber kernel meal indicated high levels of arginine, valine, leucine, and phenylala nine in that order; moderate levels of lysine and threonine; and low l evels of tryptophan, cystine, and methionine. Rubber kernel oil was hi gh in linoleic (364 g kg(-1) oil) and linolenic (313 g kg(-1) oil) aci ds. The chemical compositions of the rubber kernel products are discus sed in relation to processing methods. The potential value and implica tions of using rubber kernel products as animal feed are also highligh ted.