Proximate, Functional, Antinutrient and Antimicrobial Properties of Avocado Pear (Persea americana) Seeds

Avocado plant (Persea americana), a plant belonging to the family of Lauraceae and genus, persea bears fruit known as avocado pear or alligator pear that contains the avocado pear seed. Reported uses of avocado pear seed include use in the management of hypertension, diabetes, cancer and inflammation [7-9]. The fruit is known as ube oyibo (loosely translated to ‘foreign pear’) in Ojoto and neighboring Igbo speaking communities south east Nigeria [10]. Different parts of avocado pear were used in traditional medications for various purposes including as an antimicrobial [11,12]. That not withstanding, the avocado pear seeds are essentially discarded as agro-food wastes hence underutilized. Exploring the possible dietary and therapeutic potentials of especially underutilized agro-food wastes will in addition reduce the possible environmental waste burden [1315]. Thus, this study was warranted and aimed at assessing the proximate, functional, anti-nutrients and antimicrobial properties of avocado pear seed to provide basis for its possible dietary use and justification for its ethno-medicinal use. The objectives set to achieving the study aim as stated were by determining the proximate, functional, antinutrient and antimicrobial properties of avocado pear (Persea americana) seeds using standard methods as in the study design.