Copper and Ascorbic Acid Content of Cooked African Indigenous Vegetables

Abstract

Malnutrition is common among women of childbearing age, it is made worse by micronutrient deficiency (Farm Africa, 2006). African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) are important for dietary diversification; they are a rich source of many micronutrients needed for good health (Oniang’o et, al 2005). They are fast becoming the vegetable of choice especially in the segments of the society where consumption has been minimal (Shiundu and Oniang’o, 2007). The increased need to consume AIVs is due to availability of these vegetables to the lower end of the market consumers whose majority are the poor (Shiundu and Oniang’o, 2007). This shows the urgency of the need for information and knowledge on AIV processing and preparation alongside their nutrient contents after cooking. A survey by Waudo et al., 2005 and 2007 revealed low AIV consumption among women, children and in the urban and Peri-urban populations of Lake Victoria region due to lack of knowledge on preparation and cooking of AIVs. The main objective of this research was to formulate recipes of African indigenous vegetables using traditional salt (lye) and evaluate their copper and ascorbic acid contents. Four priority AIVs including: African nightshade (Solanum scabrum), Vegetable Amaranth (Amaranthus blitum), Slenderleaf (Crotalaria ochroleuca) and Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) were randomly selected to formulate six more vegetable combinations before cooking where each vegetable had a probability of being combined with another.