The Nutritional Contributions of Some Forest Edible Seeds to Food Security
Dawaki S.A1,Abdulhamid B2,Abubakar E.M3
Citation :Dawaki S.A,Abdulhamid B,Abubakar E.M, The Nutritional Contributions of Some Forest Edible Seeds to Food Security International Journal of Forestry and Horticulture 2017,3(3) : 17-21
Ensuring access to adequate and nutritious food produced in an environmentally and socioculturally sustainable manner, this study was aimed to investigate the nutrient potential of some edible wild plants sourced from northern region of Nigeria. The seeds of Adansonia digitata (Lin), Afzelia africana, and Terminalia catappa (L) were analyzed in water-soluble forms to determine their mineral compositions (Calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, magnesium and iodine) and vitamin compositions (A, C and E). Atomic absorption spectrophotometer and titration method showed that the seeds were found to be good sources of minerals. Calcium (789.61 ± 0.01 mg/100g), iron (422.00 ± 1.00 mg/100g), potassium (7233.50 ± 3.50 mg/100g) and magnesium (687.58 ± 0.01 mg/100g) were high in T. catappa seeds while A. digitata seeds had 81.08 ± 0.05 mg/100g as the lowest contain of calcium. Iron (3.49 ± 0.03) and magnesium (3.59 ± 0.01) were low in A. africana seeds. The results showed that A. digitata seeds had high content of vitamins A and C while T. catappa seeds had the lowest vitamin contents. A. africana seeds had low contain of vitamin E (0.74 ± 0.01mg/100g). Based on this results, the concentration of macro and micro nutrients in these lesser known edible wild seeds have promising potentials to alleviate the risk of some nutritional deficiency diseases in African countries. Also, the seeds are dietary source of vitamins A, C and E for human body. There is the need to assess the availability of the tree seeds and possible present of anti-nutrients.