Moisture, lipid, ash and crude fibre contents were determined following the standard methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists [6]. The organic nitrogen content was quantified using the micro Kjeldahl method, and an estimate of the crude protein content was done by multiplying the organic nitrogen content by a factor of 6.25 [7]. Total carbohydrate content was calculated by difference.

Calcium, potassium, manganese, selenium, copper, magnesium, iron, zinc and sodium were determined using FS 240 Varian atomic absorption spectrophotometry method while iodine, chloride and phosphorous were determined by colorimetric methods.

Data generated from the study were analysed and the results presented as mean ± standard deviation of three determinations. Differences between means were separated using ANOVA and multiple comparison tests, with the least significant difference fixed at 0.05.

From the result in Table 1, the proximate composition of UAH and BAH differed numerically from the report of other workers; some researchers reported protein 27.57%, 4.03% and fibre 4.0% ash, for UAH and 22.93% protein, 3.65% fibre, 3.39% ash, for BAH [8]. Another researcher reported 15.10% protein, 6.09% fibre, 3.79% ash, 12.34% moisture, 1.2% fat and 61.36% carbohydrate for A. heterophyllus seed cake [9]. Another reported 14.81% protein, 17.90% starch, 3.83%, fibre, 2.13% ash and 42.25% moisture for UAH seeds [10]. In this study, the values obtained were; 15.88% protein, 10.04% fibre, 5.05% ash, 22.25% moisture, 10.26% fat and 36.54% carbohydrate for UAH. It has been established that nutrient and antinutrient compositions may vary depending on the variety, growing conditions, geographical location and the propagation method of the seeds. When compared with conventional seeds like African bread fruit, bread

fruit and bambara nut, A. heterophyllus raw/unprocessed seeds protein amounts to 15.88% this is higher than African bread (Treculiar africana) fruit 12%, and bread fruit (Artocarpus atilis) 8.42% but lower than bambara nut 23.41% and pigeon pea 21.88%.

Processing affected the proximate composition of A. heterophyllus seeds. All the processsing methods used reduced the protein content. BAH had the least protein content 9.9% while roasted A. heterophyllus (RAH) had the highest value. The significant decrease (p < 0.05) in protein content of BAH might be due to leaching out of soluble nitrogen into the solution, this agrees with the report of Ijeh et al. [3], they reported a reduction of protein content of bread fruit after boiling.

The decreased in protein content of fermented A. heterophyllus (FAH) seeds might be because the microbial flora used some of the protein for their metabolic activity while reduction in RAH might be due to denaturation of endogenous proteins in the seeds during processing.

The fibre content of A. heterophyllus seeds was high (10.04%) compared to other conventional seeds, Ijeh reported 1.3% for African bread fruit [3], Isichei and Achinewhu reported 2.5% for African oil bean and melon seeds [11], while Akpabio reported 3.11% for almond seeds [12]. High fibre could trap and protect a large proportion of nutrients such as protein and carbohydrate from hydrolytic breakdown, thus reducing digestibility and utilization of end product of digestion. Dietary fibre also slows gastric emptying time by forming a gel matrix in the small intestine, it enhances bile salt and cholesterol excretion and increase faecal bulk and faecal transit time through the bowel [13]. The gel matrix slows absorption by trapping nutrients, digestive enzymes or bile acids. This effect is a characteristic which is necessary to blunt the increase in plasma glucose after a glucose load. Thus, the high dietary fibre of A. heterophyllus seeds could be exploited for the therapeutic management of conditions such as hyperglycaemia and hypercholesterolaemia in humans. Roasting increased the crude fibre content of the seed to 12.04%, this agrees with the work of Ijeh et al. [3] in a report that showed an increase in fibre content of roasted African bread fruit.

The high fat content of UAH seeds (10.25%) makes it a potential source of vegetable oil. The fat content is higher than that of African bread fruit (4.23%). It was observed that processing reduced the fat content of all the samples, this might be because some of the oil might have leached out in cooking water and some lost during roasting. The observation is in line with the report of Ijeh [3], where reduction in fat content was observed following boiling and roasting, Oyeike also reported reduction in fat content of boiled and fried groundnut seeds [14].

The moisture content showed that RAH seeds had the least value (19.95%) while the fermented samples had the highest value (35.04%). This suggests that roasted samples can be stored for a long time without spoilage since higher water activity can enhance microbial action thereby causing food spoilage [15].

Total carbohydrate value was increased in all the samples when compared with UAH seeds. Fermentation had the least value 37.64% while the boiled sample had the highest value 47.89%.

The mineral compositions of A. heterophyllus seeds in Table 2, showed that magnesium level (mg/kg) was highest in UAH (29.51), followed by calcium; UAH (16.61). Among the trace element, selenium was the highest; UAH (5.3), followed by zinc; UAH (16.61).

Processing affected the levels of minerals in A. heterophyllus seeds. There was reduction in Mg, Ca, Se, Cu, Cl, Zn and Mn in FAH. These decrease observed with fermentation method could be due to the probability of the mineral being used for microbial metabolism. This is in line with the report of Afify, they reported reduction in Mg, Cu, Zn and Mn levels of fermented white sorghum varieties. There was increase in Mn, Mg, K, Cu, Mg, Fe, I, Cl and P in BAH and SAH samples. This might be attributed to the source of water for processing. Adane reported increase in Fe, Ca, Na, Mg, Cu and P levels of boiled Colocasiaesculenta [16]. There was increase in Mn, Mg, Cu, I, Cl and P in RAH sample. This result is in agreement with Ijeh report’s of an increase in Ca, Mg, Cu and I in roasted Treculia africana seeds [3]. Fe was not detected in FAH while K and Fe were not detected in RAH. Processing increased the level of phosphorous in all the treatments, these increase might be due to breakdown of phytate by phytase to release more phosphorous. Fermentation increased the phosphorous level more than other treatments (Table 3).