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Comparative evaluation of the nutrient composition of aqueous leaf extracts of corchorus olitorius, myrianthus arboreus and annona muricata
Abstract
Background: Wild okro, browse plant and sour sop leaves are underutilized important leaves used mainly for medicinal purpose in eastern Nigeria. These leaves could be incorporated into the human diet. There is lack of scientific data on the nutrient content of these leaves.
Objective: This study examined the nutrient composition of Corchorus olitorius, Myrianthus arboreus and Annona muricata aqueous leaf extracts.
Materials and methods: The leaves were plucked out from the stem, washed with clean tap water, allowed to drain and shade dried at room temperature. The shade dried leaves were systematically processed into extracts. The samples were chemically analysed to determine the nutrient content using standard methods. The results were presented as means and standard deviation.
Results: Compared to the other two leaves, Corchorus olitorius had the highest protein (2.77±0.04), crude fibre (0.57±0.03), fat (1.03±0.09) and least carbohydrate (37.88±0.46) content. Myrianthus arboreus had the highest moisture (56.82±0.17), ash (1.70±0.04) and least protein (1.99±0.01) and crude fibre (0.22±0.03) content while Annona muricata had the highest carbohydrate (40.26±0.68) and least fat (0.49±0.04) contents. The vitamin screening of the three leaves revealed that Corchorus olitorius had the highest content of vitamins C ( 22.80±0.27) and A(1625.67±23.12) while Annona muricata had the highest vitamin B3
(18.05±0.27) content. Corchorus olitorius had the highest content of the minerals analyzed followed by Myrianthus arboreus and Annona muricata.
Conclusion: The study revealed that Corchorus olitorius, Myrianthus arboreus and Annona muricata leaves are good sources of nutrients which can make significant impact in the nutrient intakes of the populace.
