Ethnobotanical studies of traditional leafy vegetables and spices of Ebonyi State, Nigeria: Potentials for improved nutrition, food security and poverty reduction

Traditional leafy vegetables represent inexpensive but high quality nutritional sources, for the poor segment of the population especially where malnutrition is wide spread. The objectives of this research were a) to identify and document the traditional leafy vegetables and spices of Ebonyi State, and b) to assess their nutritional values with a view of enhancing their selection as components of cooked food. Market and field surveys were carried out for traditional leafy vegetables and spices in three major clans in Ebonyi North senatorial zone, Ebonyi State: Izzi, Izhia and Ngbo clans. Informal interviews were also conducted with some indigenes on the vegetables and spices identified, including where, when and how they were obtained for sale in the markets. Finally, proximate and Mineral content analysis of three of the traditional leafy vegetables was done to know their nutritional as well as mineral content. Results identified twenty-seven traditional leafy vegetables and five spices from 23 plant families. 46.7 % of the plant collections were seen and collected from the wild, while 40 % were cultivated. 33.3 % of the leafy vegetables were tree species, 30 % were herbaceous plants, and 23 % were climbers, while 13.3 % were shrubs. 60 % of the species were propagated by seed, while 36.7 % were propagated by vegetative means. The parts consumed were mainly the leaves (76.7 %), the stem, flower and the seeds. 40 % of the materials collected were major income earners for the rural populace, 36.7 % earned some income, although small, while 23.3 % had the potential of being transformed into large scale income earner. Results also indicated that three of the vegetables analysed were good sources of micro-nutrients. Their calcium content ranged between 54.06 - 90.10 mg/100 g, while zinc and lead which are antioxidants were absent. The ash content of the three plants ranged from 8.10 - 6.30 %, while protein ranged from 5 – 10 % of fresh weight or 13 - 30% for dry weight. Their fiber (roughage) content was high and will promote digestion and prevent constipation when consumed.Keywords: Ethnobotanical, Leafy vegetables, Spices, Nutrition, Food security, Poverty reductionAnimal Research International (2012) 9(1): 1485 – 149

Physicochemical Analysis of Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) Accessions

Taro is an important staple meal for rural people in resource-poor nations in sub-Saharan Africa countries. This study looked at the proximate, mineral, and anti-nutrient content of whole taro corm. Understanding the extent and distribution of genetic diversity in taro is critical for creating conservation and enhancement initiatives. The aim of the study was to assess nutritional diversity and construct a taro pre-breeding population for high dry matter and low oxalate levels. One hundred and eighty eight taro accessions were procured and planted in alpha lattice design in 2019 at Ebonyi State University's teaching and experimental fields. The corms were picked from each accession, washed, and shipped to Nigeria's National Root Crop Research Institute Biochemistry Laboratory. The corms were freeze-dried, crushed, and analyzed for physiochemical parameters using the standard techniques of analysis provided by the Association of standard Analytical Chemists. Significant differences were observed among the taro populations in dry matter content at 22.53 %, ash at 2.46 %, crude lipid at 0.60 %, fibre at 1.74 %, crude protein at 7.79 %, carbohydrates at 9.97 %, and energy at 76.48 Kcal. Potassium content was at 638.91 mg/100 g, sodium at 28.39 mg/100g, calcium at 35.18 mg/100g, phosphorus at 117.61 mg/100g, iron at 7.78 mg/100g, zinc at 2.84 mg/100g, and manganese at 2.03 mg/100g. The soluble, insoluble, and total oxalate concentration was at 74.18 mg/100g, 218.76 mg/100 g, and 291.63 mg/100 g, respectively. A hierarchical cluster analysis of taro accessions revealed three distinct groupings, with cluster three distinguished by high dry matter content and an intermediate oxalate level. The findings revealed the existence of a considerable differential in nutritional content among the taro populations analyzed. Taro is divers in its dry matter and anti-nutrient content. Clustering the accessions according to their merit would aid breeders in sorting genotypes for eating quality metrics like high dry matter and low oxalate levels. These results, needs further work for reliability