Systematic wood anatomical study in some species of Sapindaceae Juss. in South-Western Nigeria

Comparative wood anatomical studies was carried out on ten species in the family Sapindaceae. The species were relatively uniform in the features of their vessels, in which diffuse porous was observed with solitary vessels to pore multiples in transverse section and ray cells were predominantly heterogeneous in radial section. Fibres were long and extensive. The longest fibre was observed in Blighia sapida (1025±28.5 µm), while the shortest fibre was observed in Cardiospermum halicacabum (139±6.5 µm). The longest vessel was observed in Deinbolia pinnata (509±34.9 µm) and the shortest vessel was observed in Cardiospermum halicacabum (85.36±4.9 µm). The implication of these features in the taxonomy of the family was discussed. The Dendrogram based on the quantitative wood characters confirmed Allophylus africanus and Allophylus spicatus belong to the same genus as classified, likewise Blighia unijugata, Blighia sapida but Cardiospermum halicacabum is closely related to Paullinia pinnata while others exhibited distinct generic characters.

Blighia sapida (akee apple).

A datasheet on Blighia sapida covering, as an economically important tree, its taxonomy, importance, silviculture, distribution, biology and ecology, uses, products and pests.

Moisture – Influenced friction properties of ackee apple (Blighia sapida) seeds

The friction properties of ackee apple (Blighia sapida) seeds at an 11.9, 17, 22, 27, and 32% (w.b.) seed moisture were determined, which are vital for designing their processing techniques and equipment to replace the present manual methods. The ackee apple grows in many West African countries, especially Nigeria. The ackee seeds were harvested at Lanlate, Oyo State, Nigeria, where ackee trees are predominant. Standard experimental methods were adopted to determine the properties. The data were analysed using an ANOVA and the least significant difference (LSD) at P ≤ 0.05. As the moisture increased, the static coefficient of friction on glass (27.6–36.40), aluminium (27.0–30.2), polyvinyl chloride (PVC; 27.9–32.8) surfaces and normal stress at 200 g (8.73–8.93 g×cm–2), 300 g (11.65–11.79 g×cm^–2) and 400 g (14.37–14.65) loads increased significantly and linearly. The shear stress linearly decreased at a 200 g load (1.62–1.25 g×cm^–2), but was non-significant at the 300 and 400 g loads. The coefficient of internal friction linearly decreased (0.744–0.588) implying that the wet seeds flow more easily than the dry ones, which should be considered in designing conveyors. The relationships between the ackee seeds' moisture and friction properties were expressed with regression models. Data for designing the handling techniques and machines for the ackee seeds were obtained.

Effects of drying methods on compositional characterization and functional characteristics of Blighia sapida aril oil

The composition of Blighia sapida fruits is reported to differ based on its origin, variety, and preservation technique. In this study, the effect of drying method on the composition as well as the antioxidant activity of oven-dried and sun-dried B. sapida aril flour and oil were examined using standard procedures. Sun-dried B. sapida aril flour had significantly higher protein and fat content compared to the oven-dried flour. In addition, sun-dried B. sapida aril flour contained a more diverse phytochemical profile compared to the oven-dried flour. However, oven-dried B. sapida aril oil (ODAO) showed a higher percentage of unsaturated fatty acids compared to oil from the sun-dried B. sapida flour (SDAO). On the other hand, SDAO showed significantly higher DPPH scavenging and nitric oxide inhibitory activities compared to ODAO. Based on these findings, sun-drying is recommended for both nutritional purposes and other health-promoting usage such as antioxidant, over oven-drying.

Moisture Influences of Some Physical and Gravimetric Properties of Ackee Apple Seeds (Blighia sapida

This research evaluated and determined some moisture-influenced physical and gravimetric properties of Blighia sapida seeds relevant to machine design at 11.9, 17.0, 22.0, 27.0 and 32.0% moisture levels (wet basis). These properties are vital in handling and seed process design. With increasing seed moisture (11.9 to 32.0%), there was no statistically significant effect on the seed axial dimensions, principal diameters, sphericity and surface area. This is because seed axial dimensions relatively determine other properties afore stated. However, there were significant and linear increases in thousand seed mass (189.3 – 230.3 g), bulk (377.0 - 418.3 kg m-3) and true (714.3 - 771.1 kg m-3) densities but decrease in porosity was not significant. Increase in bulk and true densities is due to the rate of increase in the seed mass being more rapid than the rate of increase in its volume, as the seed moisture increased. A non-linear decrease showed in seed volume (3.4-3.2 cm3). Behavioral patterns of ackee seeds and their investigated properties, under increasing moisture was expressed using regression models. Required primary data for the design of handling techniques and process machinery for ackee apple seeds were generated.