The Acacia genus is considered one of the most invasive taxa in some habitats, namely coastal dunes, maritime calcareous soils, fresh lands in the valleys, mountainous areas, and the banks of watercourses and roadsides. In Portugal, the severity risk is very high, so this study aimed to evaluate the nutritional and mineral contents of the green pods as a potential source for livestock feeds and soil fertilizer because, as far as we know, there is no use for this species. The seven different species of Acacia (Acacia mearnsii Link, Acacia longifolia (Andrews) Willd, Acacia melanoxylon R. Br., Acacia pycnantha Bentham, Acacia dealbata Link., Acacia retinodes Schlecht, and Acacia cyclops A. Cunn. ex G. Don fil) were evaluated. The results showed that Acacia green pods have a high protein, fibre and minerals content, especially in potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). All species present a different profile of the studied parameters, suggesting different potentials for their future use. Near-infrared spectroscopy was a potential tool to predict the earlier quality of the Acacia green pods to better select the raw material for the different applications.
Keywords: Acacia species; NIR; elemental analysis; green pods; nutritional value.