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The chemical and anti-nutritional, antioxidative and anti-microbial properties of seeds from Acacia cyclops, Acacia microbotrya and Acacia victoriae(which are legumes) traditionally consumed by indigenous Western Australians were studied for the first time for their potential as commercial food components. A. microbotrya (2.7 CIU/g) (α < 0.05) had the highest α-chymotrypsin inhibitor activity, while A. victoriae (0.3 ± 0.03) had the highest trypsin inhibitor activity. Both A. microbotrya (0.2 ± 0.02) and A. victoriae (0.2 ± 0.08) had significantly higher oxalate content than A. cyclops. The anti-microbial properties of wattle seed extracts against the foodborne pathogens Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium and Staphylococcus aureus were determined. A. cyclops demonstrated the greatest anti-microbial activity against all the microorganisms studied. A. microbotrya had significantly higher amounts of protein (27.2%), fat (3.4%), fibre (49.2 mg/100 g), iron (5.2 mg/100 g), potassium (1275.5 mg/100 g) and zinc (3.8 mg/100 g) than the other two Acacia species. A. victoriae had the highest DPPH equivalent antioxidant activity (37.1%). The wattle seeds studied are higher in protein, dietary fiber, zinc and potassium compared to some commonly consumed legumes such as lentils and chickpeas. Incorporation of wattle seed in to food may provide additional health benefits to consumers. Their ability to inhibit foodborne bacteria means they may have potential as a natural food additive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acacia seed (AS) is rich in protein and iron but contains protease inhibitors that can reduce protein digestibility (PD). The seeds are generally roasted prior to consumption, although no information on the PD of roasted AS is available. This study investigated the effect of roasting time (5, 7 and 9 min at 180 °C) on the chemical composition, physicochemical properties, and in vitro PD and intestinal iron absorption of three wild harvested Australian AS species, Acacia victoriae, A. coriacea and A. cowleana. Roasting A. victoriae and A. coriacea seeds for 7 min significantly increased PD in the seeds by 36 and 61 %, respectively. A 9-min roasting time was required to achieve 75 % reduction in trypsin inhibitor activity in A. coriacea seed, while a shorter roasting time (RT) was sufficient to achieve similar reduction rates in the other two Acacia species. Among the functional properties, water and oil absorption capacities were significantly enhanced as RT increased. The starch granules in 7- and 9-min roasted A. victoriae seed flour detached from the protein matrix while random coil increased in 7-min roasted A. victoriae and 9-min roasted A. coriacea and A. cowleana, thus, contributing to enhanced PD. Although the SDS-PAGE in 7- and 9-min roasted A. cowleana samples showed reductions in the intensity of bands for high molecular weight proteins, PD was not affected by RT. However, intestinal iron absorption was not significantly affected by roasting as compared to raw digesta samples. Compared to commercial roasted Acacia seed, the considerably shorter RT used in this study improved PD in the AS flour with less adverse effects on techno-functional properties., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)