Food Mineral Diversity Among Leafy Indigenous Vegetables

There are five main classes of indigenous vegetables, namely: Leaf vegetables like amaranth, Fruit vegetables like African eggplant, Pulse and seed vegetables like cowpea, Tuber vegetables like sweet potato and the special class referred to as other vegetables of which for example cauliflower belongs. This work therefore examined food mineral potentials and diversity among five (5) leafy vegetables namely; Water leaf (<i>Talinum triangulaire</i>), Biter leaf (<i>Venonia amygdalina</i>, Ugu leaf (<i>Telfaria occidentalis</i>), <i>Basella alba</i> (green) and <i>Basella alba</i> (red). Leafy samples each of 0.52g slurry of the vegetables above were put in clean ceramic crucibles in duplicate and were placed in a cool muffle furnace and ramp at a temperature of 5000C over a period of 2 hours. They were allowed to remain at 5000C for another 2 hours before cooling down. The samples were later transferred into a desiccator. Each of the sample was now poured into already labelled 50ml centrifuge tube. The crucibles were then first rinsed with 5ml of distilled water into the centrifuge tubes and later with 5ml of the aqua regia solution. This process was repeated, so as to make a total volume of 20ml. The supernatants were now decanted into clean vials and mineral analysis were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results of the analysis revealed that the amount of iron (Fe) was highest in <i>Basella aalba</i> (species red) with 318.15ppm, followed by <i>Telfaria occidentalis</i> (ugu) with 261.22ppm; while the least amount was obtained in water leaf with 76.60ppm and <i>Venonia amygdalina</i> with 100.94ppm. For the amount of manganese (mn), the highest amount was obtained in water leaf with 320.63ppm, followed by <i>Venonia amygdalina</i> with 307.52ppm while the least amount were obtained in <i>Basella alba</i> (green species) with 135.59ppm and <i>Telfaria occidentalis</i> with 49.26ppm. For the amount of Sodium (Na), the highest amount was obtained in <i>Basella alba</i> (green speciies) with a value of 127.29ppm. Nitrogen (N) amount was highest in <i>Telfaria occidentalis</i> with 6.03% followed by <i>Basella alba</i> (red species) at 5.78%, while the least amount were found in water leaf with 4.37% and <i>Basella alba</i> (green species) with 1.65%. The work concludes that it is necessary to take these vegetables at intervals together, as this would improve the level of mineral bio-availability to be used by the body systems, and by so doing enhancing dietary diversity pattern of indigenous vegetable consumption which is needed to improve our health and eliminate deficiency diseases.