Journal Article

Proximate and Mineral Composition of Gardenia erubescens (Senegal Mandinka) Stapf and Hutch Fruits

Abstract

Gardenia erubescens fruits known as Lagba and Gaude in Gbagyi and Hausa languages respectively areexcellent sources of essential nutrients. The present study investigated the Gardenia erubescens fruits fortheir nutritional compositions. Proximate analysis was achieved by employing the established methodsdescribed by (AOAC, 2005). The mineral analysis was carried out using spectrometry and photometry.The results of the proximate analysis revealed that carbohydrate content was the highest at (64.59%)followed by crude protein with (8.55%) while crude fat had the lowest content with (3.46%), crude fibrecontent (4.22%), moisture content (12.48%) and ash content (6.70%). The results of Mineral Analysis(mg/100g) were: potassium (226.24), sodium (18.16), calcium (5.82), iron (9.28), magnesium (13.16) andphosphorus (6.45). The results revealed that Gardenia erubescens fruits contain rich essential nutrientsneeded for the improvement of human nutrition. The fruits should be domesticated to reduce the prevalentcases of malnutrition in Africa since they contain basic essential nutrients as well as an appreciableamount of macro-nutrient elements; the fruit pulp could be boosted as carbohydrate supplements forcereal-based diets.

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