Assessment of the resource potential of Avocado (Persea Americana) and Date (Phoenix Dactylifera) seed wastes through proximate, elemental and GC–MS characterization

Abstract

Avocado (Persea americana) and date (Phoenix dactylifera) seed wastes are generated during household consumption and fruit processing. They are usually discarded despite their potential as sources of recoverable nutrients and chemical constituents.  This study assessed the resource potential of avocado seed powder (ASP) and date seed powder (DSP) through proximate, elemental, and GC–MS analyses. Proximate composition was determined using standard analytical methods, while Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) was employed for elemental analysis, and ethanolic extracts were examined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). ASP had higher ash (2.896%), fat (7.696%), crude protein (27.174%), and energy (346.908 kcal/100 g) than DSP, whereas DSP contained more crude fibre (9.557%) and carbohydrate (51.491%). Potassium was the predominant detected element on the normalized EDXRF basis, accounting for 76.09% and 38.97% of the normalized elemental signal in ASP and DSP, respectively. DSP contained higher calcium, phosphorus, iron, silicon, chlorine, and sulphur, while ASP had higher copper, zinc, bromine, and rubidium. The detection of arsenic in ASP and aluminum in DSP warrants confirmation with more sensitive quantitative techniques before any food or feed assessment is made. GC–MS identified trans-13-octadecenoic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid, and octadecanoic acid as the dominant compounds in both extracts. Their respective relative peak areas were 37.40%, 25.68%, and 12.06% in ASP, and 36.33%, 24.31%, and 12.43% in DSP. The findings reveal distinct nutritional and elemental characteristics, together with similar fatty acid-dominated chemical compositions, supporting fraction-specific resource recovery and value-added applications subject to appropriate safety and functional evaluation.