Browsing by Author "Nwafor, A."

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    Nutritional evaluation of medicinal cnidoscolus aconitifolius (Chaya) leaves used in Nigeria
    (ABC Publishers Inc., 2013) Iwuji, S.; Nwafor, A.; Azeez, T. O.; Nwosu, E. C.; Egwurugwu, J.; Danladi, N. B.
    Evaluation of the nutritional content of edible plants is currently essential for safety. This work assessed the proximate and mineral composition of the leaves of Chaya plant (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) commonly known as ‘hospital is too far’ and consumed in Niger Delta, Nigeria for medicinal and nutritional purposes. The study showed that the dried leaves of the plant contain 47.03 ±1.02% of nitrogen free extract; 33.04± 3.14% of crude fibre; 7.03±0.23% of crude fat; 4.03±0.67% of crude protein, while moisture and ash made up 6.10±1.10% and 3.04±0.32%, respectively. A gram of the dried leaves yielded (in mg) 10±1.2, 20±1.6, 0.01±0.1, 100±5.3, 85±4.32, 18±2.1 and 50±2.3 of Iron, Phosphorus, Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Manganese and Calcium, respectively. The energy yield was 258±4.5kcal/100 mg. These results suggested the comparative richness of the leaves in fibre, high nitrogen free extract (carbohydrate) and essential minerals to prevent nutritional and electrolyte deficiency disorders among the consumers.