Nutritional value of peanut

Peanuts are grown in tropical and subtropical climates. They need much sunshine, warm temperature, moderate rainfall and a frost-free growing period of 4 to 5 months.

Peanuts are rich in oil: 100 pounds of whole nuts yields 32 pounds of oil and small podded varieties contain 50% oil.

The oil contains 76% to 82% unsaturated fatty acid that is fatty acids with double bonds. Monounsaturated fatty acids represent 48.4% of the total; polyunsaturated fatty acids, 33.6 percent and saturated fatty acids, 18%.

The two major carbohydrates of peanuts are starch, present primarily in starch grains in the two large cotyledons of the seed, and sugars (mostly sucrose) present in the honeycomb network surrounding the fat deposits.

Peanuts have fiber, plus a good amount of protein to build a better body. Peanuts generally contain higher amounts of protein (25.80 g/100 g) than three nuts (7.91-21.22 g/100g).

100 grams of raw nuts contains about 705 mg of potassium and 18 mg of sodium. They also have a good supply of niacin and a bit of thiamine for more energy. They are rich in fiber, a good source of B-group vitamins, vitamin E and a source of iron and zinc.

Nutritional value of peanut

Characteristics of fats in general

*Fats are comprised of fatty acids bound, in bundles of three, to glycerol. There are about 20 different fatty acids that may be connected to glycerol in natural fats.

*Fatty acids are either saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Those whose structures have the maximum number of hydrogen atoms are called saturated and those which are lacking hydrogen atoms at certain points in the structure are classified as unsaturated.

A saturated fatty acid

*Fats contains mixtures of all three types of fatty acids; the balance of the mix determines whether the fat is generally saturated (hard) or polyunsaturated (soft).

An unsaturated fatty acid

 *The amount of unsaturated fatty acids in a fat affects the temperature at which the fat melts. The more unsaturated a fat, the more liquid it is at room temperature.

*Fats are smooth, greasy substance that are insoluble in water. It is mainly a fuel source for the animal or plant in which it is found or for the animal that eats it.

*In digestion, bile acids act as detergents to solubilize fats to aids digestion. *In transport, the fatty material is surrounded by a coat of protein plus phospholipid. The full particle is a lipoprotein.

*The liver can convert carbohydrate to fat, which is exported from the liver as a lipoprotein. The lipoprotein complex responsible for transporting lipids from the small intestine is in the form of chylomicrons. It is the chylomicrons that responsible for the ‘milky’ appearance of blood plasma that occurs after a meal rich in fat has been eaten.

*Certain polyunsaturated fatty acids are nutritionally essentially because:
1. They are the precursors of the vitality important regulators of metabolism, the prostaglandins
2. The body cannot make them from either carbohydrate or existing dietary fatty acids.
Characteristics of fats in general

Fatty acids – the simplest of lipids

Fats or lipids consists of numerous chemical compounds, including monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phosphatides, cerebrosides, sterols, terpenes, fatty alcohols,  and fatty acids.

The fatty acids, the simplest of the lipids, are defined as monocarboxylic acids that tend to be more soluble in organic solvents than in water. They are a hydrocarbon with a methyl group at one end and carboxyl group at the other.

Some naturally occurring saturated fatty acids:
Butyric
Caproic
Caprylic
Capric
Lauric
Myristic
Palmitic
Stearic
Arachidic
Behedic
Lignoceric

The human body needs fatty acids and it can make all but two of them –linoleic acid (the 18-carbon omega-6 fatty acid) and linolenic acid (the 18 carbon omega-3 fatty acid).

Fatty acids are classified according to the number of double bonds they possess. It can be saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated and are essential for energetic, metabolic and structural activities.

Some naturally occurring unsaturated fatty acids:
Monoenoic: Palmitoleic, Oleic
Dienoic: Linoleic
Trienoic: Linolenic
Tetraenoic: Arachidonic

Palmitic acid and stearic acid are by far the most commonly occurring and widely distributed of the saturated fatty acids whereas oleic acid and linolenic acid are the most prevalent of the unsaturated.

These four fatty acids account for over 90% of the fatty acids in the average American diet. Fatty acids of shorter chain length are for the most part minor constituents of plants and animal fats.

However, butyric acid and myristic acid occur in milk fat in large amounts and about 60% of the fatty acid in coconut oil consists of lauric acid and fatty acids of shorter chain length.

Highly unsaturated fatty acids are essential for cellular functions of many differentiated tissues in humans of all ages.

They are mostly incorporated in membrane phospholipids and serve as a structural component of the phospholipid membranes in tissues throughout the body.
Fatty acids – the simplest of lipids

Fatty acid of oleic acid

Oleic acid is the most commonly occurring monounsaturated fatty acid and is most concentrated in olive oil but animal fat also contain substantial amounts of these fatty acid.

Oleic acid has 18 carbon atoms, and it has one double bond at position 9 from the carboxyl end.

An isomer of oleic acid is elaidic acid, which has a trans double bond at the 9-position.

When oleic acid is exchanged for dietary saturated fatty acids in the diet, the plasma cholesterol is reduced. 

Oleic acid

In the study of Dougherty and coworkers in 1987, the oleic acid contribution to major fatty acids is the cholesterol ester fraction of plasma was 37.8% among Italian subjects and 18.6% among US subjects although the calculated oleic acid composition of the diets in the two centers was equivalent.

Oleic acid intake is particularly high in the Mediterranean region where large amount of olive oil are consumed. Other sources rich in oleic acid are rapeseed (canola oil), and high-oleic forms of safflower and sunflower.

Peanuts and pecans also are high in oleic acid.
Fatty acid of oleic acid