FNSFood and Nutrition Sciences2157-944XScientific Research Publishing10.4236/fns.2012.312215FNS-25267ArticlesBiomedical&Life Sciences Peanuts and Their Nutritional Aspects—A Review .S. Settaluri1C.V. K. Kandala2*N.Puppala1J.Sundaram3New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, USANational Peanut Research Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Dawson, USAUnited States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Athens, USA.* E-mail:chari.kandala@ars.usda.gov(CVKK);10122012031216441650September 1st, 2012November 16th, 2012 November 23rd, 2012© Copyright 2014 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. 2014This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Peanut is a legume crop that belongs to the family of Fabaceae, genus Arachis, and botanically named as Arachis hypogaea. Peanuts are consumed in many forms such as boiled peanuts, peanut oil, peanut butter, roasted peanuts, and added peanut meal in snack food, energy bars and candies. Peanuts are considered as a vital source of nutrients. Nutrition plays an important role in growth and energy gain of living organisms. Peanuts are rich in calories and contain many nutrients, minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins that are essential for optimum health. All these biomolecules are essential for pumping vital nutrients into the human body for sustaining normal health. This paper presents an overview of the peanut composition in terms of the constituent biomolecules, and their biological functions. This paper also discusses about the relationship between consumption of peanuts and their effect on human metabolism and physiology. It highlights the usefulness of considering peanuts as an essential component in human diet considering its nutritional values.

Peanuts; Nutrition; Biomolecules; Vitamins; Minerals; Plant Protein1. Introduction

Peanuts are believed to have originated in Central American region from where they spread to other parts of the world. They are widely cultivated in India, Africa, South America, United States [1], China [2] and a few other countries. Peanuts often are enriched with health benefiting nutrients that are beneficial to human health. They are actually legumes but are the most frequently eaten “nut” in the United States. Studies show that peanuts, peanut butter, and peanut oil significantly reduce the risk of heart disease when consumed daily, similar to other nuts. More than 300 different varieties of peanuts are grown worldwide, which include Virginia, Valencia, Georgia runner, Tennessee red, Tennessee white and many others. They are usually consumed after roasting or boiling, and also processed into different forms such as peanut butter, candy, chocolates, cakes, and others. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are popular in the American culture [3], with raw, roasted, shelled or unshelled forms of peanuts being available in United States throughout the year. Peanuts vary in color from red to brown and are usually coarse in their appearance. Raw peanuts and peanuts prepared without salt are naturally low in sodium, having 18 mg of sodium per 100 g. This equates to only 5.4 mg of salt in a 30 g serving. The nutritional importance of peanuts is due to the energy and growth supplementing constituents present in them. These include carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, some organic acids and purines. It is estimated that as much as 30% of the population from many countries in the world are suffering from malnutrition [4]. Peanuts, which are a rich source of protein and essential amino acids, can help in preventing malnutrition [5]. Moreover, peanuts contain lipids and carbohydrates which are energy rich compounds, capable of complementing the basic energy demands of the human body. In this article the chemical composition of peanuts, all types, dry-roasted, without salt is reviewed, and their importance as a useful source of nutrition is discussed.

2. Broad Composition of Dry-Roasted Peanuts, without Salt

The basic composition of peanuts per 100 g of nuts [6] is as below:

• Water 1.55 g

• Carbohydrates 21.51 g

• Fiber 8.0 g

• Lipids (Fats) 49.66 g

• Proteins 23.68 g Energy (Total Calories) 2448 kJ (585 kcal)

Table 1 given below describes the sub composition of the above categories under every major molecule such as

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