Chemical Composition, Mineral Composition and Selected Biological Activities of Five Wild Plant Seeds: Borassus aethiopum, Bombacopsis glabra, Entada africana, Entada gigas and Myrianthus arboreus

Abstract

Proximate analysis of five wild seeds (Borassus aethiopum, Bombacopsis glabra, Entada africana, Entadas gigas and Myrianthus arboreus ) were carried out. Crude extracts of the wild seeds were subjected to phytochemical screening, antioxidant, (Flavonoids and Total phenol), antinutrients and antimicrobial screening. Functional properties, mineral compositions of the seeds flour were investigated and physicochemical properties of extracted oil from two oil rich samples (B.glabra and M. arboreus) were also determined. Proximate analysis showed moisture content ranged between 1.50% to 3.00%, ash 2.00% to 4.69%, fat was between 2.06% to 34.46%, fibre between 0.99% to 4.92%, Protein between 4.40% to 44.86% and carbohydrate between 34.78% to 80.93 %. The seeds are good sources of minerals such as Ni, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Zn, and Fe, in abundance that ranges between 4.30 mg/100g Cr to 98.50a 0.50 mg/100g Ni in B. aethiopum. Phytochemical screening showed that alkaloids,flavonoids, glycosides,tannins and phlobatannins were present in all the extracts while saponins was present only in E. africana, and M. arboreus. For antioxidant properties, B. aethiopum had the least flavonoids of 0.25% while E. africana has the highest of 1.55%. Highest Total phenol of 5.51% was obtained in M. arboreus and the lowest value of 0.58% was in B. aethiopum .Antinutrients showed that saponin ranged between 0.29% in E.africana and 0.42% in B. glabra. Phytate was between 0.14mg/g in E. africana and 6.56mg/g in E. gigas. E. gigas is 0.45mg/g of tannins while M. arboreus has 4.87mg/g, B. aethiopum had the lowest oxalate 2.25mg/g while M. arboreus 7.19mg/g was the highest. Antimicrobial screening indicated that E. africana inhibited Salmonella spp. and Serretia spp at 520 μg/ml and  150μg/ml respectively. M. arboreus inhibited Salmonella spp, Proteus spp, Enterococcuss spp and Serratia species at 409 μg/ml,  150,  55μg/ml and  550 μg/ml respectively. B. aethiopum, B. glabra and E. gigas were inactive against the entire tested organisms. Functional properties of the flour showed that the least gelation concentration for B. aethiopum, B. glabra, E. africana and M. arboreus were 10%, 6% 6% and 18% respectively, B. aethiopum had the least foaming capacity 1.85% while B. glabra had the highest 27.27 %. Water absorption capacity ranged between 3.00% in M. arboreus and 30.0% in E. africana. Oil absorption capacity was between 13.00 % in M. arboreus and 22.00% in E. africana. Protein solubility increases with increase in pH at acidic medium and reaches the peak at pH 7 (E africana exempted) before solubility began to decrease with further increase in pH at alkaline medium. Physicochemical properties of the oil from the two oil rich samples reveals that the B.glaba maintained high value of specific gravity, refractive index, density, free fatty acid, peroxide value, saponification value and Iodine value compared to M. arboreus.