Journal of Food Engineering 67 (2005) 435–440

www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng

Some physical properties of African star

apple (Chrysophyllum alibidum) seeds
O.J. Oyelade *, P.O. Odugbenro, A.O. Abioye, N.L. Raji
Department of Food Science and Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, P.M.B. 4000, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria

Received 29 July 2003; accepted 13 May 2004

Abstract

Basic physical properties of food crops that are often required in order to design production processes, equipment and evaluation
of the effect of processing on nutrients were determined for African star apple seeds, at a moisture contents of 8.49% (dry basis). The
average seed longitudinal, transverse and thickness dimensions were 24.1, 14.7 and 8.30 mm, respectively. True density, bulk density
and density ratio were 972.88, 499.61 kg m
3 and 51.58% respectively. However, static friction varied on three different surfaces from
0.38 to 0.51, while the angle of repose ranged from 13.01
to 14.69
. The specific heat of the whole seed and kernel were 129.40 and
155.08 kJ kg
1 K
1 respectively at 80
C.
 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: African star apple seed; Physical properties; Handling machineries; Thermal processing

1. Introduction
African star apple (Chrysophyllum albidum), is known
to be a tropical evergreen tree locally referred to in South
Western Nigeria as ‘‘agbalumo’’ is however an underuti-
lized tree crop. It belongs to the plant family sapotaceace
and classified under the genus chrospophyllum. The fruit
is a berry having five flattened glossy seeds or lesser in
certain instances probably due to abortion (Akinyele &
Keshinro, 1980). The pictorial views of the fruit bearing
tree, fruits, split fruits showing the mucilage covered
seeds and the seeds are as shown in Fig. 1(a)–(d).
Although, relatively sparse information is available
on in-depth nutritional attributes of the seed, between
166 g oil/kg DM and 25% seed oil have been reported
by researchers (Ajewole & Adeyeye, 1990; Ajiwe, Okeke,
Nnabuike, Ogunleye, & Elebo, 1997). The studies indi-
cated that the high-unsaturated nature of the oil com-
*
Coresponding author.
E-mail address: kemsegfse@yahoo.co.uk (O.J. Oyelade).
pares with other edible oils from seeds and nuts. This
nature of the oil is further submitted to be useful in heart
disease risk reduction. The free fatty acid and acid val-
ues of the star apple seed oil arising from studies sug-
gested that free fatty acids could be prepared from it.
In line with this, the iodine values of the oils also indi-
cated that the oil can be used for the preparation of solid
soap. Also, the residual cake could be possible be used in
animal feeds. However, the fruit is known to have sev-
eral industrial potentials.
In this regard, the fruit pulp is used in table jelly man-
ufacture (Aina, 1986; Falade, 2001; Okafor, 1983). Also,
the pulp is useful in the formation of soft drink in bev-
erage industry. The commercial viability of the fruit in
the production of fermented wine and alcohol has
alongside been adjudged to be feasible (Opeke, 1987).
Another prominent potential is the usage of the milky
while latex from the fruit and tree as raw material in pol-
ymer industries. The tree bark is used as medicament in
treating wounds, while the light hardwood can be
used as firewood or in certain instances as timber.
Furthermore, preliminary analysis of the oil found in

0260-8774/$ - see front matter  2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2004.05.046
436 O.J. Oyelade et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 67 (2005) 435–440

Nomenclature

Sp sphericity index (%) Gw average slope of cooling curve for seed sam-
a longitudinal dimension of seed (cm) ple (K s
1)
b thickness dimension of seed (cm) Mc mass of calorimeter (kg)
De geometric mean dimension (cm) Cc specific heat capacity of calorimeter (kJ
1
Sa surface area (cm2) kg
1 K)
Ra aspect ratio (%) Pb bulk density (kg m
3)
Cs specific heat capacity of seed (kJ
1 kg
1 K
1) Pt true density (kg m
3)
Ms mass of seed sample (kg)
porosity (%)
Mw mass of water in calorimeter (kg) p constant (3.142)
Cw specific heat capacity of water (kJ
1 kg
1 K
1)

Fig. 1. The pictorial view of (a) the fruit bearing tree, (b) the fruits, (c) the fruits showing mucilage covered seeds and (d) the seeds of African star
apple seed.

the fleshy part of the fruit reveals that the oil is a non-
drying type due to the absence of conjugated triene acid.
Thus, in view of the considerable economic potentials
of the crop in the food and chemical industries, it is
imperative to determine the relevant physical properties
of the seeds. The properties include shape, mass, density,
coefficient of static friction and dynamic angle of repose,
which are often required in the design of handling
machineries.
minimum distance of 10 km apart within the metro-
polis of Ogbomoso (8
07 0 N, 4
16 0 E), in the South-
western Nigeria. The seeds were thereafter pooled
together to obtain approximately 100 kg of seed
material. The materials were maintained in a jute
bag at an ambient condition of 27–34
C and 80–90%
RH.
2.1. Moisture and fat contents determination

The moisture content of the comminuted seed mate-

2. Materials and methods rial and crude fat assays were determined in accordance
with standard procedures (AOAC, 1984). Reading
Dry mature seeds were randomly collected from were obtained in triplicate with the mean values re-
dropped matured ripe fruits in five locations, with a ported (Table 1).
 O.J. Oyelade et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 67 (2005) 435–440 437

Table 1
Some physical properties of African star apple seed
Physical properties No. of observation Unit of measurement Mean Min value Max value Standard
deviation
Dimension (longitudinal) 100 mm 24.10 19.20 27.3 0.18
Dimension (transverse) 100 mm 14.70 12.70 17.60 0.10
Thickness 100 mm 8.30 19.20 27.30 0.16
Geometric mean dimension 100 cm 1.434 1.240 1.770 0.082
Surface area 100 cm2 6.457 4.730 9.830 0.799
Volume 100 cm3 1.06 0.70 1.60 1.17
Mass 100 g 1.01 0.60 1.40 0.14
Density 100 kg m
3 972.88 871.5 1081.34 61.20
Aspect ratio 100 % 61.48 49.71 73.44 4.51
Bulk density 10 kg m
3 499.61 481.64 52.66 13.68
Porosity 10 % 48.43 40.93 55.48 4.08
Density ratio 10 % 51.58 47.63 59.07 4.08
Sphericity 100 % 59.71 51.81 67.03 2.79
Mass of kernel/kg 3 g kg
1 474 474 474 –
Coefficient of static fraction of galvanized steel 10 – 0.51 0.46 0.54 0.02
Coefficient of static fraction on mild sheet 10 – 0.46 0.44 0.48 0.01
Coefficient of static fraction on plywood with 10 – 0.41 0.36 0.47 0.04
grain perpendicular to direction of flow
Coefficient of static fraction on plywood with 10 – 0.38 0.36 0.4 0.01
grain parallel to direction flow
Dynamic dynamic angle of repose on plywood 10 degrees 14.69 12.99 16.50 0.89
Dynamic angle of reposed on galvanized sheet 5 degrees 13.01 12.53 13.63 0.44
Dynamic angle of repose on mild steel sheet 10 degrees 14.15 12.13 15.57 1.06
Specific heat of dehulled seed 3 155.08 136.41 181.84 23.77
Specific heat of dehulled seed 3 kJ kg
1 K
1 129.40 97.85 144.45 27.69
Surface area 100 cm2 6.457 4.73 9.83 0.799
Moisture (db) 3 % 8.49 8.13 8.69 0.18
Fat 3 % 2.92 2.63 3.21 0.29

2.2. Physical characteristics b

The 100 kg seed material for each cultivar was di-
vided into five lots and 20 seeds selected at random from
each lot. Hence, measurement of all size and shape indi-
ces as well as the seed mass, were replicated 100 times.
Vernier caliper reading to 0.01 mm (Kanon Instruments,
Japan) was used to determine the three principal dimen-
sions, longitudinal (a), transverse (b) and thickness (c) as
illustrated in Fig. 2.
The criteria used to describe the shape of the seed are
the aspect ratio and sphericity. Thus, the sphericity in-
dex (Sp) was accordingly computed (Mohsenin, 1970)
as:
ðabcÞ1=3
Sp ¼  100
a
The aspect ratio (Ra) was calculated (Maduako &
Faborode, 1990) as:
Fig. 2. The three principal dimensions of African star apple seed,
longitudinal (a), transverse length (b) and thickness (c).
Ra ¼  100 ð2Þ
a
The weight of the seeds were found using a sensitive
balance (Mettler PE 1600, GallenKamp) reading to an
accuracy of 0.01 g.
In obtaining the surface area (Sa) of the star apple
seed, the relationship given by McCabe, Smith, and
Harriorth (1986) was utilized as:
S a ¼ pD2e ð3Þ
However, the geometric mean dimension (De) of the
seed was found using the relationship given by Mohse-
nin (1970) as:
De ¼ ðabcÞ
1=3
ð4Þ
ð1Þ
The seed density defined as the ratio of the mass of a
sample to the solid volume accordingly occupied was
determined by the liquid displacement method (Shepherd
& Bhardwaj, 1986). Epoxy resin adhesive (Araldite) was
used to coat the seeds as suggested by Dutta, Nema, and
Bhardwaj (1988), to avoid water absorption during the
experiment. The adhesive was observed to be insoluble
in water and the weight gain due to the treatment was
essentially below 1.8%. The bulk density known as the
quotient of the mass of a sample and its total volume
438 O.J. Oyelade et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 67 (2005) 435–440
was determined as reported by Fraser, Verma, and Muir
(1978). A plastic container of pre-determined volume
and tare weight was filled with the seeds to a constant
height, and the excess seeds removed by a strike-off stick
before weighing. No separate manual compaction of
seeds was effected. The density ratio was quotient of
mass density and bulk density expressed as percent-
age, while porosity (
) according to Jain and Bal
(1967) was:
qt
qb

¼  100 ð5Þ
qt
Readings were replicated as indicated in Table 1.
Three structural materials namely unsanded ply-
wood, galvanized steel sheet, and mild steel sheet were
used for the coefficient of static friction experiment.
An inclined plane (Griffin & George Ltd, Great Britain)
method reported by Omobuwajo, Sanmi, and Olajide
(2000) was used with the angle of inclination upon rais-
ing, at which the sample started sliding measured with
protractor. Thus, the tangent of the measured angle
was reported as coefficient of friction.
A specially constructed box (450 mm · 450 mm · 450
mm), having a removable panel was used to determine
the emptying angle of repose of the seeds on the afore-
mentioned surfaces (Oje & Ugbor, 1991). The box was
filled with the seeds, and then the front panel quickly re-
moved to allow the seeds to flow to their natural slope.
Therefore, the angle of repose was calculated from the
measurements of the depth of the free surfaces of the
seeds at two known horizontal distances from one end
of the box.
The readings were replicated 10 times and the mean
values reported.
An adiabatic drop calorimeter using the method of
mixtures (McProud & Lund, 1983) was used to deter-
mine the specific heat capacities of the whole seeds
and kernels tightly wrapped in polyethylene foil. The
equilibrated starting temperature was 80
C with about
200 g of water and about 5 g of the seeds and kernels
each. Thereafter, heat loss curves were generated and
the specific heat capacities deduced from the heat
balance.
 
1 M w C w Gw
Cs ¼
M cCc ð6Þ
Ms Gs
3. Results and discussions
A summary of the results for all the parameters meas-
ured and determined is shown in Table 1. The frequency
distributions of the physical properties are also shown in
Fig. 3. The moisture content of the seed at the time of
experiment was 8.49 (±0.18)% dry basis. The moisture
content found can help to suggest the stability in storage
of the seed, and also the ease of dehulling process.
Longitudinal dimension for the seed ranged from 19.2
to 27.3 mm with the mean value as 24.1 ± 0.18 mm (Table
1). However, a greater percentage (56%) of the seed lon-
gitudinal dimension lies between 23.25 and 25.95 mm
with 35% between 23.25 and 24.6 mm. For the transverse
dimension, the trend was 32.23% and 24% between
13.52–14.33, 14.33–15.15 and 15.15–15.97 mm respec-
tively. A similar trend was observed for the seed thick-
ness as 24.28% and 25% for 7.40–7.82, 7.82–8.23 and
8.23–8.65 mm, respectively. Therefore, from the availa-
ble data for oil bean seed and gram, the African star ap-
ple is smaller than oil bean seed but bigger than gram
(Dutta et al., 1988; Oje & Ugbor, 1991).
Specifically, the oil bean seed is approximately two
and half times longer than the star apple seed, approxi-
mately three times wide and about one and half times
thicker. The star apple seed is about three times longer,
two and half times wider and one and half times thicker
than the gram. Although, Mohsenin (1970) had effec-
tively highlighted the imperativeness of the axial dimen-
sions in machine design, the comparison of the data with
existing work on the other seeds can be sufficient in
making symmetrical projections towards process equip-
ment adaptation.
It is seen from Table 1 that the sphericity and aspect
ratio of the seed varied from 51.81 to 67.03 (±2.79)%,
49.71 to 73.44 (±4.51)% respectively. Within the ranges,
63% of the aspect ratio is from 57.62% to 65.53% with
35% of the value having a range of 57.62–61.58%. The
sphericity data also indicates 40% of the data between
59.42% and 61.95% and 25% between 56.88% and
59.42% (Fig. 3; Table 1). The high sphericity value thus
suggests that the seeds tend towards a spherical shape
(Omobuwajo et al., 2000). Thus the values of the aspect
ratio and sphericity generally indicate a likely difficulty
in getting the seeds to roll. They can, however, slide
on their fat surfaces. This tendency to either roll or slide
should be necessary in the design of hoppers and dehull-
ing equipment for the seed. However, the surface area
ranged from 4.73 to 9.83 (±0.79) cm2 respectively. The
surface area is a relevant tool in determining the shape
of the seeds. This will actually be an indication of the
way the seeds will behave on oscillating surfaces during
processing (Alonge & Adigun, 1999).
The average seed mass was 1.01 g, although the
masses spread between 0.60 and 1.40 (±0.14) g. This va-
lue is lower to the values reported for ackee apple and oil
bean seed (Omobuwajo et al., 2000). Specifically, 60% of
the seed masses were in the range of 0.99–1.13 g with 13%
between 0.87 and 0.99 g (Fig. 3). Average masses are
important in cleaning using aerodynamic forces. An
interesting feature which probably suggests the effect of
initial moisture of the seed is that the density range indi-
cated a nearly 50–50% chance of floatation and otherwise
 O.J. Oyelade et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 67 (2005) 435–440 439

40 35
35 Longitudinal (m m ) 30 Transverse (m m )
30 25

Frequency
Frequency 25
20
20
15
15
10
10
5 5
0 0
19.2- 20.55- 21.9- 23.5- 24.6- 25.95- 12.7- 13.52- 14.33- 15.15- 15.97- 16.78-
20.55 21.9 23.5 24.6 25.95 27.3 13.52 14.33 15.15 15.97 16.78 17.6

30 45
25 40
Thickness (m m ) 35 Sphericity (%)
Frequency

20

Frequency
30
15 25
20
10 15
5 10
5
0
0
7.4-7.82 7.82- 8.23- 8.65- 9.07- 9.48-9.9
51.81- 54.35- 56.88- 59.42- 61.95-
8.23 8.65 9.07 9.48
54.35 56.88 59.42 61.95 64.49

40 45
35 40
Aspect ratio (%)
30 35
Surface area (cm 2)
Frequency
Frequency

25 30
25
20
20
15 15
10 10
5 5
0 0
49.71- 53.67- 57.62- 61.58- 65.53- 69.49- 4.73- 5.58- 6.43- 7.28- 8.13-- 8.98-
53.67 57.62 61.58 65.53 69.49 73.44 5.58 6.43 7.28 8.13 8.98 9.83

70 35
60 30 Density (kgm -3)
50 25
Frequency

Mass (g)
Frequency

40 20
30 15
20 10
10 5
0 0
0.6- 0.73- 0.86- 0.99- 1.13- 1.26- 871.51- 906.48- 941.45- 976.43- 1011.39- 1046.37-
0.73 0.86 0.99 1.13 1.26 1.4 906.48 941.45 976.43 1011.39 1046.37 1081.33

Fig. 3. Frequency distribution of selected physical properties of African star apple seeds.

on water. Nearly 60% of the density value lies within 14.75
, 20% from 12.35
to 12.71
and 40% from
871.51 and 976.42 kg m
3 while about 50% of the values 14.99
to 15.57
in that order. The obvious smooth sur-
are within 1011.39 and 1081.33 kg m
3. However, the face of the seeds is apparently responsible for the
mean value was 972.88 (±61.2) kg m
3. This characteris- relatively lower values of repose angle, and thus the eas-
tic can be used to separate the seeds from other foreign iness of the seeds to slide on each other. This phenome-
materials (Oje & Ugbor, 1991). The frequency distribu- non is imperative in food crop processing, particularly in
tion of the seed volume indicated a 49% of values from the designing of hopper for dehulling equipment. The
0.85 to 1.00 cm3 out of a range of 0.70–1.60 cm3. The co-efficient of static friction was 0.38 on plywood with
porosity value was essentially 48.43 ± 4.08%. grains parallel to the direction of flow, 0.51 on a galva-
The frictional properties examined for the seed are nized steel sheet and 0.46 on a mild steel sheet. The coef-
the dynamic angle of repose and the coefficient of static ficients of static friction therefore follow the same trend
friction. Essentially, the emptying angles of repose were as the angles of repose. Indeed, there was no appreciable
14.69
(±0.89), 13.01
(±0.44) and 14.15
(±1.06) on ply- difference between the values of plywood with grains
wood, galvanized steel and mild steel respectively. On perpendicular and parallel, a probable indication of neg-
these surfaces, the study further indicated that 40% of ligible differences in the roughness at the seed/plywood
the seed indicated angle of repose range from 14.16
to interface in the two directions.
440 O.J. Oyelade et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 67 (2005) 435–440
The specific heat capacity if the kernel was found to be
155.08 kJ kg
1 K
1 while that for the whole seed was
129.40 kJ kg
1 K
1. These values are significantly greater
than the 2.83 and 2.14–5.32 kJ kg
1 K
1 reported for
ackee apple and various sizes of oil bean seed respectively
(Omobuwajo et al., 2000). Insight to the thermal behav-
iour of food crop is necessary, as heat is known to have
effect on processing equipment and more importantly on
the crops embedded nutrients. The mean value of the fat
content determined as 2.92% (±0.29) at the moisture
level indicated merits further investigation. This is
perhaps necessary as it is greatly at variance with the
reported values. (Ajewole & Adeyeye, 1990; Ajiwe
et al., 1997).
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