Abstract:

Rubber seeds are a by-product of rubber plantation industry. In Hainan province, approximately 200,000 tons of rubber seeds fall down every year, which results in a serious waste of resources. However, nuts of fresh seeds contain an anti-nutritional factor, bean saponins (C10H17O6N), which can produce a cyanide galactopyranoside. In order to take advantage of rubber seeds, major compositions of rubber seeds were analyzed. The weight of individual seed sample was 3.1－6.3 g. Totally 28.9% of water, 21.5% of crude proteins, 50.2% of crude fat and 6.2% of starch were determined in nuts without fat removal. In contrast, 42.01% of crude proteins, 9.98% of crude fat and 36.67% of carbohydrates were detected in nuts with fat removal. In addition, HCN content in fresh nuts was approximately 162.5 mg/100 g dry weight. The vast majority of cyanide can result in reduction or disappear due to storage or treatment with soaking, cooking or fermentation. All of these investigations will provide the scientific and theoretical references for comprehensive development and utilization of rubber seeds.

Key words: rubber seed, component, cyanide, determination