determination of anti-oxidant, nutritional and anti-nutritional composition of garcinia kola and chrysophyllum albidum from rainforest ecosystem of ondo state

DETERMINATION OF ANTI-OXIDANT, NUTRITIONAL AND ANTI-NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF Garcinia kola AND Chrysophyllum albidum FROM RAINFOREST ECOSYSTEM OF ONDO STATE

ABSTRACT
This study was undertaken to determine the anti-oxidant, nutritional and anti-nutritional composition of Garcinia kola and Chrysophyllum albidum from rainforest ecosystem of Ondo state, Nigeria. The anti-oxidant analysis was performed for seed kernel, fruit pulp, fruit skin and the whole fruit of Chrysophyllum albidum while nutritional and anti-nutritional composition for the species were performed for the fruit pulp and seed kernel. For Garcinia kola nutritional, anti-nutritional and anti-oxidant composition was performed on the seed kernel, fruit pulp and the fruit pod. Total phenol, total flavonoid, Vitamin C and 1-1, diphenyl picaryl hydrazine (DPPH) were the anti-oxidants determined for C. albidum and Garcinia kola. Analyses for nutritional (moisture content, ash, protein content, crude fibre, fat, carbohydrate) and anti-nutritional (phytate, oxalate tannin, alkaloid, saponin, flavonoid) composition were conducted. The results showed that moisture and ash content of the fruit pulp and seed kernel of C. albidum were comparable; protein, fat and fibre contents were higher in the fruit pulp than in the seed kernel while carbohydrate content of the seed kernel was higher than that in the fruit pulp. For G. kola, the fruit pod had higher ash content than the fruit pulp and seed kernel, the fruit pulp had the highest moisture content, followed by fruit pod and lastly by the seed kernel. The protein and fat contents of the seed kernel and fruit pod were similar but higher than that of the fruit pulp. Carbohydrate content was higher in seed kernel than in the fruit pulp and fruit pod. The results of anti-nutritional analyses indicated that the seed kernel and fruit pulp of G. kola and C. albidum did not have high concentration of anti-nutrients. The fruits of the two species were found to contain good amount of anti-oxidants. Thus, the consumption of the two species is not detrimental health and they can be used as food supplements in food manufacturing.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0:  INTRODUCTION

  1.1: General background

  Non-Timber  Forest  Products  (NTFPs)  play  important  role  in  rural  communities  around  the  world.  These  products  may  be  sold,  thus  providing  cash  income  and  economic    empowerment. The extraction of NTFPs is often considered to be a mean of improving rural  people‟s  living  standard as  well  as  suitable  approach  of  forest  conservation.  They  have  medicinal  values  and  are  very  numerous  in  the  forest.  These  NTFPs  are  highly  valued  by  rural  people  and  form  part  of  their  daily  diets.  They  are  used  not  only  for  household  consumption,  but  also  for  trade.  They  could  be  essentials  sources  of  proteins,  vitamins,  minerals and amino acids, thus making them nutritionally important.

Examples of NTFPs tree species includes:  Chrysophyllum  albidum,  Treculia africana, Cola  nitida, Garcinia kola, Blighia sapida, Elaeis guinensis, Ricinodendron heudelotii and Irvingia  gabonensis,  etc. Chrysophyllum  albidum or  white  star  apple provides  NTFPs  of  immense  domestic  importance  to  rural  and  urban  dwellers,  with  great  export  potentials  (Nwoboshi,  2000). The fruit pulp is widely consumed and thus plays important role for food security. It serves as  a  delicacy and  an  alternative  source  of  food,  it  also  provides  alternative  source  of  income to rural dwellers and provides rural employment through the collection and sale of the  fruits. The species has been noted to  be of great nutritional, social, medicinal and traditional  importance (Okigbo, 1978; Okafor, 1979). Due to the sweet and pleasant taste of the fruit, the  consumption  of  C.  albidum  has  been  noted  to  be  on  the  increase  (Egharevba  and  Uwadiae,  1995). Also, demand for the fruit has increased in Nigerian cities.

  1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The fruit and seeds of Chrysophyllum albidum and Garcinia kola respectively are essential  sources  of  protein,  mineral,  vitamins and  amino  acids,  etc. They also  have a very  high  percentage of their fresh weight as water and they exhibit relatively high metabolic activity  when compared with other plants consumed by man.

Despite their importance, Chrysophyllum  albidum and Garcinia  kola have been  greatly  neglected, especially with respect to their regeneration. It has been shown that the economic  importance  as  well  as  the  consumption  of  these  forest  fruit  species  has increased  in  recent  years  as  a  result  of  increased  awareness  of  its social,  economic,  medicinal  and  nutritional  values.  Although C.  albidum and G.  kola have  been  consumed  for  decades  or  centuries in  Nigeria  and  other  parts  of  Africa,  their  anti-oxidants,  nutritional  and  anti-nutritional  compositions have not been investigated in details. (Egharevba and Uwadiae, 1995; Leakey  et al., 1996; Onyekwelu and Akindele, 2002).

The determination of nutritional composition of the fruit is essential in order to ascertain the  important roles these fruits will play in human nutrition while the anti-oxidant determination  is essential to ascertain its medicinal value. One of the major constraints to the utilization of  fruits and seeds from forest trees is the presence of Anti-nutritive Factors (ANFS) especially  phytate and trypsin inhibitors (Edet et al., 1985). Consequently, it is essential to investigate  the presence of these nutrients, anti-nutrients and anti-oxidants as well as their quantities in  the fruits, which is the focus of this study. This will help in evaluating the contribution of the  fruit to nutritional balance of the people as well as to health care delivery.

  1.3 OBJECTIVES

The  general  objective  of  the  study  is  to  investigate  the anti-oxidant, nutritional, and anti-

nutritional composition of the fruits and seeds of Chrysophyllum albidum and Garcinia kola

grown in the rainforest ecosystem of Ondo State, Nigeria.

The specific objective includes:

1. To  investigate  the  nutritional  composition  of  the  fruit and  seeds of Chrysophyllum

albidum and Garcinia kola, respectively

1. To examine the anti-nutritional composition of the fruit of Chrysophyllum albidum as

well as in the seeds of Garcinia kola

1. To carry out  analysis of anti-oxidant of Chrysophyllum albidum fruits and Garcinia  kola seeds grown in the rainforest ecosystem of Ondo State, Nigeria.

  1.4 JUSTIFICATION

Forest  fruits and seeds are increasingly becoming important  in  the nutritional diversity and  health care delivery of the people, especially rural dwellers. They contribute to our diets, thus  their  importance  cannot  be  overemphasized.  In  Nigeria, C. albidum and G.  kola are  consumed in  different  ecological  zones and  by  different  people  groups.  It  is  necessary  to  embark on  the  domestication  of these  species because  of their economic,  social,  tradition,  environmental,  medicinal  and  nutritional  importance,  as  well  as their increasing  demand,  coupled with the decreasing yield and old age of current trees. Some fruits contain quantities  of  anti-nutrient,  which  are  detrimental  to  human  health  while  others  are  known  to  contain  large amount of nutrients necessary for body building and functioning such as fibre, protein,  carbohydrates,  etc.  Also,  some  fruits  contain  a  good  quantity  of  anti-oxidants,  which  help  maintaining the health of the human body.  With these, the determination of the nutritional, anti-nutritional  and  anti-oxidant  elements  in  indigenous  forest  fruits and  seeds should  be  done in order to sensitize the economy. Where they are found to contain high quantities anti- nutrients that are detrimental to human health, measure would be taken to overcome them so  that the fruits can be consumed without damage to  the human health. Where the  fruits and  seeds contain  good  quantity  of  nutritional  elements and  anti-oxidants,  their  cultivation  and  consumption should be promoted (Adekunle, 2007; Ajewole and Adeyeye, 1991). Thus, this  study is aimed at investigating the nutritional, anti-nutritional and anti-oxidant compositions  in the fruits and seeds of Chrysophyllum albidum and Garcinia kola, respectively grown in  the rainforest ecosystem of Ondo State, Nigeria.

  1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

  This  study  covers the  determination  of the  nutritional,  anti-nutritional  and  anti-oxidant

analysis  of Chrysophyllum  albidum fruits and Garcinia  kola seeds from rainforest

ecological  zone of  Ondo  State.  Fresh fruits of  the  species  were collected  from  trees in

agroforestry  farms  in  some villages  within  the rainforest ecological zone of  Ondo  State,

Nigeria. The nutritional compositions investigated were: Moisture content, crude fibre, ash,

crude  protein, fats  and  carbohydrates, the  anti-nutrients determined  are  tannin,  phytate,

phytin phosphorus, oxalate, saponin,  alkaloid, and flavonoid composition.  While the anti-

oxidants  determined are  the total  phenol,  total flavonoid, 1-1,  diphenyl  picaryl  hydrazine

(DPPH free  radical  scavenging) and  vitamin  C.  The  nutritional  and  anti-nutritional compositions  determination  was carried  out  in  Animal  Production  and  Health  Department experimental Laboratory, FUTA while the anti-oxidant investigation was carried out in the

Department of Biochemistry Postgraduate laboratory, FUTA

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