Studies on Nutritive Potential and Toxic Constituents of Different Provenances of <i>Jatropha curcas</i>

Eighteen different provenances of Jatropha curcas from countries in West and East Africa, North and Central America, and Asia were characterized for nutrient and antinutritional factors. The mean weight of the 18 seed provenances was 0.64 ± 0.10 g (mean ± sd). The kernel forms a large proportion of the seed and accounts for 61.3% ± 3.1%. There were large variations in the contents of CP (19−31%; 26.0% ± 3.2%), lipid (43−59%; 53.0% ± 4.8%), neutral detergent fiber (3.5−6.1%; 5.0% ± 0.87%), and ash (3.4−5.0%; 4.2% ± 0.52%) in kernels. The gross energy of kernels was relatively similar (28.5−31.2 MJ/kg; 30.1 ± 0.80 MJ/kg). Trypsin inhibitor activity in the defatted kernels (meal) varied from 18.4−27.5 mg of trypsin inhibited/g. Similarly a wide variation was observed for saponins (1.8%−3.4% as diosgenin equivalent), phytate (6.2%−10.1% as phytic acid equivalent), and lectin activity, inverse of minimum amount of the sample in milligrams per milliliter of the assay which produced agglutination (0.85−6.85 using a latex agglutination test and 51.3−204 using a hemagglutination assay) in the meals. Tannins, amylase inhibitor, glucosinolates, and cyanogens were not detected in any of the meals. Phorbol esters were not detected in the seeds collected in Papantla, Mexico, whereas the level of phorbol esters in the remaining 17 provenances ranged from 0.87 to 3.32 mg/g of kernel. Keywords: Jatropha curcas; physic nut; nutrients; trypsin inhibitor; lectins; phorbol esters; phytate