magnesium, phosphorus, potassium an

magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and
calcium were the common elements for both
the tamarind samples. Both of these samples
possessed almost similar amounts of
magnesium and phosphorus at 0.15% and
0.16% in pulp and 0.16% and 0.15% in seed
respectively. Potassium contents of tamarind
pulp and seed varied, 1.16% and 0.67%
respectively whereas tamarind pulp
contained a higher value. In contrast,
tamarind seed contained a significantly
higher amount of calcium than tamarind
pulp (1.0% and 0.27% respectively).
Aluminium, sulphur, bromide and
molybdenum were only common to tamarind
seed (0.21%, 0.15%, 0.39% and 0.40%
respectively) while tamarind pulp was
devoid of these elements. This study shows
that the nutritional status of tamarind seed
is better than tamarind pulp as it contains
more beneficial minerals. The analysis of the
samples showed that heavy metals like lead
and arsenic that are toxic to the body tissue
were not detected in both of the samples. This
is a clear indication that both tamarind pulp
and seed can be used as valuable sources of
minerals for human and animal
consumption.