Impact of pretreatments and drying methods on techno-functional properties, in-vitro protein and starch digestibility, and amino acid composition of avocado (Persea americana Mill.) seed flour

Impact of pretreatments and drying methods on techno-functional properties, in-vitro protein and starch digestibility, and amino acid composition of avocado (Persea americana Mill.) seed flour | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Impact of pretreatments and drying methods on techno-functional properties, in-vitro protein and starch digestibility, and amino acid composition of avocado (Persea americana Mill.) seed flour Desta Dugassa Fufa, Shure Soboka This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8367141/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Avocado ( Persea americana Mill.) is a popular plant fruit known for its rich nutritional profile and health benefits. However, their by-product seeds of the avocado, frequently discarded as waste, contain significant amounts of nutrients, mainly proteins and starches. However, there is limited information on the impact of pretreatments and drying methods on the in-vitro protein and starch digestibility of avocado seed flour. Avocado seeds sliced were subjected to various pretreatments (ascorbic acid (0.5%, w/v), blanching, and roasting) and drying methods (fluidized bed, hot air oven, solar, and freeze dryers), and their effects on the techno-functional properties and in-vitro protein and starch digestibility of the resulting avocado seed flour were evaluated. In this study, drying methods had a significant influence on in-vitro protein digestibility of avocado seed flour (p < 0.05), with values ranging from IVPD% (70.79 to 90.53%). The sample treated with ascorbic acid and dried with a fluidized bed dryer showed the highest 90.53% IVPD, and the lowest protein digestibility in untreated avocado seed flour. The amylose content value ranged from 38.54 to 43.68% and the amylopectin content from 56. 32 to 61.39%. The highest amylose content (43.68%) was observed in the hot air dryer-treated with roasting (HAD R o ) avocado seed flour. In-vitro starch digestibility with resistant starch value ranged from (35.74 to 43.77%), which promotes gut health. In this instance, unconventional food like avocado seed flour emerges as a sustainable food ingredient, providing functional, nutritional, and textural properties. Thus, optimized pretreatments and drying methods for avocado seed flour enable diverse applications in bakery, noodles, sausages, weaning foods, and functional beverages, unlocking their commercial potential in the food industry. avocado seed drying methods functional in-vitro digestibility pretreatments Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 17 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 23 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 18 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 08 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 22 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 19 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 19 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8367141","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":572566549,"identity":"449674fb-ac02-4ecc-8314-fe2fe770c717","order_by":0,"name":"Desta Dugassa 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flour","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-food","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"discoverfood","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Food](https://www.springer.com/44187)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Food","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"avocado seed, drying methods, functional, 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However, their by-product seeds of the avocado, frequently discarded as waste, contain significant amounts of nutrients, mainly proteins and starches. However, there is limited information on the impact of pretreatments and drying methods on the \u003cem\u003ein-vitro\u003c/em\u003e protein and starch digestibility of avocado seed flour. Avocado seeds sliced were subjected to various pretreatments (ascorbic acid (0.5%, w/v), blanching, and roasting) and drying methods (fluidized bed, hot air oven, solar, and freeze dryers), and their effects on the techno-functional properties and \u003cem\u003ein-vitro\u003c/em\u003e protein and starch digestibility of the resulting avocado seed flour were evaluated. In this study, drying methods had a significant influence on \u003cem\u003ein-vitro\u003c/em\u003e protein digestibility of avocado seed flour (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), with values ranging from IVPD% (70.79 to 90.53%). The sample treated with ascorbic acid and dried with a fluidized bed dryer showed the highest 90.53% IVPD, and the lowest protein digestibility in untreated avocado seed flour. The amylose content value ranged from 38.54 to 43.68% and the amylopectin content from 56. 32 to 61.39%. The highest amylose content (43.68%) was observed in the hot air dryer-treated with roasting (HAD R\u003csub\u003eo\u003c/sub\u003e) avocado seed flour. \u003cem\u003eIn-vitro\u003c/em\u003e starch digestibility with resistant starch value ranged from (35.74 to 43.77%), which promotes gut health. In this instance, unconventional food like avocado seed flour emerges as a sustainable food ingredient, providing functional, nutritional, and textural properties. Thus, optimized pretreatments and drying methods for avocado seed flour enable diverse applications in bakery, noodles, sausages, weaning foods, and functional beverages, unlocking their commercial potential in the food industry.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Impact of pretreatments and drying methods on techno-functional properties, in-vitro protein and starch digestibility, and amino acid composition of avocado (Persea americana Mill.) seed flour","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-12 07:09:20","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8367141/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-02-17T10:42:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-23T19:55:20+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-18T18:18:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"180745429819540636601389606854087009960","date":"2026-01-15T17:08:35+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"75059432025507573144597841452070042229","date":"2026-01-14T09:09:24+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"152546099631646785572685969621284509370","date":"2026-01-10T16:45:32+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-08T11:50:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-22T09:05:12+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-12-19T18:55:26+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Food","date":"2025-12-19T18:47:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-food","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"discoverfood","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Food](https://www.springer.com/44187)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Food","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"4964cef9-52b8-409b-9772-fb74472b8e84","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 12th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-26T14:14:18+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-12 07:09:20","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8367141","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8367141","identity":"rs-8367141","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}