The effect of different processing techniques on the antinutritional factors inherent in the seeds of baobab (Adansonia digitata) was investigated. The processing methods, which included dehulling, cold-water hot-water; hot-alkali and acid treatments, revealed that the concentration of tannic acid was reduced significantly by all the processing techniques except for dehulling. The activity of the amylase inhibitors in the seeds was also reduced significantly by dehulling, cold-water and hot-alkali treatments while the hot-water and hot-acid treatments increased the activity of the amylase inhibitors. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.