Journal of Applied Biosciences (J. Appl. Biosci.) [ISSN 1997 - 5902]
Volume 35: 2294 - 2300. Published November 8, 2010.
Nutritional values of some tropical vegetables
Adenipekun, C.O*1 and Oyetunji, O.J.2
1, 2 Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Ibadan
*Corresponding author e-mail: oyinpek@yahoo.comABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate nutrition values of fruits of Lycoperscon esculentum Mill, Abelmoschus esculentus L.Moench, L. Solanum macrocarpon Linn. and the seeds of Vigna unguiculata (Linn.)Walp. and Arachis hypogea Linn.
Methodology and results: The fruits of L. esculentum, A. esculentus S. macrocarpon and seeds of V. unguiculata and A. hypogea were bought from a local market in Ibadan. The fruits and seeds were dried and analyzed for proximate, mineral and vitamin contents. L. esculentum fruits had the highest total soluble ethanol sugars (15.65g/100g dry matter) and 1.7% crude fibre content. However, the fruits of A. esculentus had the highest amount of starch (38.42g/100g dry matter), 2.0% protein while lipid content of 0.2% was recorded in both fruits of A. esculentus and L. esculentum. The highest moisture content of 18.0% was in fruits of S. macrocarpon. The highest glucose (0.03%), arabinose (0.14%), fructose (0.14%), raffinose (0.13%), sucrose (0.11%) and xylose (0. 05%) were in the fruits of A. esculentus. The highest mineral element levels were in fruits of A. esculentus: Ca 800mg/kg, K 912mg/kg, and Zn 296mg/kg dry matter. L. esculentum had 208mg/kg Mn and 76mg/kg Ca. The highest Na (1620), Fe (250) and P contents (1060) mg/kg dry matter were in fruits of S. macrocarpon. Highest vitamin A (425mg/100g) and vitamin B12 (0.6mg/100g) levels were in L. esculentum while the highest vitamin B6 levels (1.2mg/100g), vit. B2 (1.13mg/100g), vit. D (0.07mg/100g) and vit. K (1.0mg/100g) were in A. esculentum. The lowest values of vitamins A, D, and K were in fruits of S. macrocarpon. These results revealed that the fruits of A. esculentum are more nutritious than L. esculentum and S. macrocarpon. The proximate analysis of V.unguiculata and A. hypogeae seeds showed that the protein contents of the two seeds were similar. However, the lipids content was higher in A. hypogeae. Further analysis revealed that V.unguiculata was richer in crude fibre, starch and soluble sugars than A. hypogeae.
Conclusion and application of findings: The results showed a wide variation in the nutritional values of the fruits and seeds. This indicates that fruits and seeds need to be combined with other foods to make a good diet. This study shows that these local plants are good as food for both man and animals.
Keywords: Nutrient contents, proximate analysis, vegetables, vitamins
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