Fortification of hotcakes from edible flour of non-toxic Mexican Jatropha curcas L.

The Jatropha flour is a promising source of protein in the fortification of various foodstuffs made from wheat and corn. The objective was to evaluate the use of non-toxic or edible J. curcas flour at different percentages (5, 10, 15 and 20%) in combination with wheat flour to make hotcakes. Whole and defatted J. curcas flour presented values of moisture between 4.5 and 6.8%, nutritional protein 23.5 and 54.0%, lipids 52.52 and 1.56%, ashes 5.29 and 11.4%. The protein content of a control sample of hotcakes was 8.4%, increasing to 16.5% when 20% Jatropha flour was added to wheat flour. The microbiological analysis of defatted flour recorded a count of aerobic mesophilic of 7100 UFC/g, fungus 200 UFC/g and yeasts 20 UFC/g. At last, it was determined that lead and cadmium were not detected in flour. Thus, the edible Jatropha flour has a potential for fortification in processed foods, but is very important to ensure the safety or low toxicity level of Jatropha seeds previously by chemical analysis (HPLC) to avoid problems of severe intoxication; therefore non-toxic plantations of Jatropha must be certified to avoid mixtures with other toxic seeds.    Key words: Physic nut, Xuta, flour, meals, fortification, microbiology, protein