Phytochemical Screening, Proximate and Amino Acid Compositions of Two Edible Indigenous Leafy Vegetables from Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abiodun Folasade AKINSOLA, Ilesanmi OSASONA, Caleb Oloyede OJO, Ayodeji AWE, Pelumi Esther OMOLAYO

Albizia zygia, amino acids, Crateva adansonii, leaves, phytochemical screening

The leaves of Albizia zygia (DC) J. F. Macbr and Crateva adansonii DC. were investigated for phytochemical screening, proximate, mineral and amino acid compositions using standard analytical methods. The leaves of the plants were found to contain 29.4% (Albizia zygia) and 18.3% (Crateva adansonii) crude protein. Their respective crude fat values were 7.63 and 4.11%. while the carbohydrate contents of both leaves were 40.6 (Albizia zygia) and 50.6% (Crateva adansonii). The phytochemical screening of the methanol extract of Albizia zygia and Crateva adansonii leaves revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, phenols, saponins and flavonoids while steroids and anthraquinones were absent in the two plant leaves. The mineral analysis of the samples showed that calcium had the highest concentration in both samples with Crateva adansonii having a higher value of 1210 mg/100g compared to 930mg/100g obtained for Albizia zygia leaves.  The amino acid composition of the leaves showed that eighteen amino acids were present in both leaves with the highest concentrations recorded for glutamic and aspartic acids. This study has revealed that the two edible indigenous leafy vegetables are a good source of dietary protein, major mineral elements and essential amino acids.

https://doi.org/10.31871/IJNTR.8.7.21