Nutritional and Anti-nutritional Composition of Strychnos innocua Del. (Monkey Orange) Fruit Pulp Grown in Zuru, Nigeria

Abstract

The Strychnos innocua (Monkey Orange) fruits pulp were analysed to establish its proximate, minerals, anti-nutritional and ascorbic acid compositions using standard analytical methods. The pulp, on dry weight basis (DW), contains crude protein (3.97%), crude lipid (20.0%), ash (0. 05%), available carbohydrates (75.53%), calorific value (498.0kcal/100g) and moisture (60.17%Wet Weight). The pulp is rich in, potassium (256.33mg/100g), magnesium (10.67mg/100g), iron (9.77mg/100g), zinc (28.73 mg/100g) and manganese (2.50mg/100g). The pulp contains appreciable concentration of ascorbic acid (17.97 91mg/100g DW). But the pulp also has high content of total oxalate (48.75 % DW) and phytic acid (242.91mg/100g). The levels of various nutrient and mineral elements varied significantly, which indicates the potential of the pulp to be harnessed for diverse application for value addition as health food provided that the anti-nutritional factors are tackled appropriately.

Keywords: Strychnos innocua, Fruits, Nutrition, Antinutritional factors, Minerals, Proximate composition