Assessment of the nutritional composition of raw and processed <i>Cassia tora</i> seed meal for fish nutrition

Abstract

The Cassia tora seed (CTS) were subjected to four different processing methods (soaking, boiling, soaking + toasting and toasting, before the determination of their chemical and amino acid composition. The crude protein (CP) of the raw, soaked, boiled, soaked + toasted and toasted Cassia tora seed meal (CTSM) were 25.40, 21.70, 25.50, 21.86 and 25.72%, respectively. Crude fibre and ether extract were significantly higher in the soaked + toasted CTSM compared to the values recorded for the raw and the other processed seeds. The nitrogen-free extract value of the soaked was higher compared to the values recorded for the raw and the other processed seeds. Toasting lead to 43.86, 81.01 and 100% reduction in the concentration of oxalate, tannins and trypsin inhibitor, respectively. The boiled CTSM had higher levels of essential amino acids (EAA), however, the EAA levels in the toasted CTSM was comparable to that of soya bean meal. Therefore, the toasted CTSM had sufficient quantities of nutrients to justify its usage as a fish feed ingredients.