Nutritional, biochemical and microbiological composition of Borassus aethiopum Mart. sap in Burkina Faso.

The palmyra palm Borassus aethiopum Mart. grow wild and gives natural stands in several localities of central-eastern and eastern regions of Burkina Faso. This work aimed to determine the nutritional, biochemical and microbiological composition of fresh palm sap from B. aethiopum Mart. during the first 4 days of tapping. The composition of palm sap was carried out by HPLC and standard methods. The sap collected during the first 4 days were sugary and contained less alcohol. The mean values of the pH, total and reducing sugars content were 4.84 ± 0.5, 11.36 ± 3.97 and 2.93 ± 1.22% w/v respectively. Sucrose, glucose, fructose and Vitamin C values were 6.75% w/v, 4.99 g/L, 7.09 g/L, 8.93% w/v respectively. Galactose and xylose were not detected. Soluble proteins, arabinose, phenols and ethanol were present in low concentration. Calcium, potassium, magnesium and ammonium were present in palm sap with highest potassium content (13.26 g/L). Lactate (2.41 ± 0.86 g/L), succinate (2.49 ± 1.46 g/L), acetate (0.01 ± 0.006 g/L), malate (0.17 ± 0.31 g/L), propionate (0.07 ± 0.04 g/L), citrate (0.19 ± 0.11 g/L), tartrate (0.08 ± 0.09 g/L) and pyruvate (0.05 ± 0.03 g/L) were detected in palm sap. The microbiological analysis of sap gave 1.23 ± 1.01 × 10⁸ cfu/mL for total aerobic flora, 7.27 ± 1.19 × 10⁵ cfu/mL for yeasts, 1.86 ± 1.63 × 10⁷ cfu/mL for lactic acid bacteria and 3.75 ± 0.75 × 10⁵ cfu/mL for acetic acid bacteria. The fresh sap from B. aethiopum presents good nutritional value and its consumption can help to improve dairy food intake of rural population. It can be used for the manufacture of various products like palm wine, syrups, sugars, functional foods, etc.