ESTIMATION OF NUTRITIONAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF DIOSCOREA DUMENTORUM COMMONLY CULTIVATED IN SOUTH EASTERN NIGERIA (ENUGU)

EMEDOM, PRAISE (2018) ESTIMATION OF NUTRITIONAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF DIOSCOREA DUMENTORUM COMMONLY CULTIVATED IN SOUTH EASTERN NIGERIA (ENUGU). ESTIMATION OF NUTRITIONAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF DIOSCOREA DUMENTORUM COMMONLY CULTIVATED IN SOUTH EARSTERN NIGERIA (ENUGU). (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Bitter yam (Dioscorea dumentorumpax) can also be called trifoliate yam which belongs to the genus Dioscorea and family Dioscoreacea. It is an annual plant with an underground storage tuber in which starch is deposited. This work was aimed at assessing the nutritional and phytochemical compositions of Dioscorea dumentorum commonly cultivated in south eastern Nigeria.Dioscorea dumentorum was washed and shade dried for 6 days. The dried yam was ground using a milling machine and then stored in a plastic container for further analysis. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was carried out to test for tannin, saponins, alkaloid etc. The result obtained in phytochemicals are alkaloid (++), phenol (++) and flavonoids (++)were present, steroids and tannin were absent while saponins was relatively low (+).and phytochemical results showed that the quantity of alkaloid, flavonoid and phenol were 0.5%, 11.6% and 1.89% respectively. The results for proximate analysis shows that moisture content is 61.6%, ash content 8%, crude fiber 10.45% etc. In conclusion, the present study has shown that Dioscorea dumentorumcontains appreciable activities commonly consumed tubers. The study further revealed that it contains phytochemicals such as flavonoids, alkaloids and saponins which could be extracted for human use and may be responsible for its anti-diabetic and other pharmacological activities. And it is clear from this study that, these tuber owe their anti-diabetic and analgesic properties to their selective chemical composition, and that proper knowledge of the proximate and phytochemical composition is fundamental to understanding their presence and nutritive capabilities.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	R Medicine > RZ Other systems of medicine
Divisions:	Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences
Depositing User:	Article CHINENYE EMEDOM
Date Deposited:	03 Aug 2018 13:19
Last Modified:	03 Aug 2018 13:19
URI:	http://eprints.gouni.edu.ng/id/eprint/428

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