J.

Atoms and Molecules / 2(5); 2012 / 387393 Research Article

Udoetok IA & Ufai ID

Journal of Atoms and Molecules

An International Online Journal
ISSN 2277 1247

EFFECT OF BLANCHING ON NUTREINT AND ANTI-NUTRIENT LEVEL OF LEAVES OF SOME VARIETIES OF CASSAVA (Manihot esculenta Crantz) I. A. Udoetok*1, I. D. Ufia2
1

Chemistry Department, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpaden, Mkpat Enin L.G.A., Akwa Ibom State. 2 Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpaden, Mkpat Enin L.G.A., Akwa Ibom State. Revised on: 06-10-2012 Accepted on: 12102012

Received on: 21-09-2012 Abstract:

Random samples of leaves of three widely cultivated cassava varieties in Nigeria; TMS 30555, NR 8083 and TMS 30211 were collected from the Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Development Program (AKADEP) farm in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The samples were dried, ground into powdery form and chemical analyses carried out on them. Proximate composition analyses revealed that these leaves contained appreciable amounts moisture, ash, lipid, crude protein, crude fiber, carbohydrate and caloric value before and after blanching. Moisture was highest in NR 8083; 64.4% and lowest in TMS 30555; 58.0%. Ash content was highest in TMS 30555; 7.7% and lowest in TMS 30211; 6.3%. Lipid was highest in NR 8083; 10.0% and lowest in TMS 30211; 8.6%. TMS 30555 had the highest crude protein content; 33.8% while TMS 30211 had the lowest; 14.5%. Crude fiber was highest in TMS 30555; 5.1% and lowest in TMS 30211; 4.2%. Carbohydrate was highest in TMS 30211; 66.4% and lowest in TMS 30555; 44.7%. NR 8083 was richest in Vitamin A. Anti-nutrient analyses on the samples showed that they contain Hydrocyanic acid (HCN), Tannin, Phytate and Oxalate which were reduced as a result of blanching. The results also revealed that the samples contain appreciable amount of minerals with Calcium being the most abundant. The data obtained from this study therefore suggest that anti-nutritional properties of cassava leaves may be reduced through blanching thus making it a suitable supplement for micronutrients and vitamin A in diets if they are * Corresponding author Udoetok Inimfon Abner, Email: eeneemphorn@yahoo.com Tel: +2348029580124 All rights reserved 2011 processed appropriately. Key Words: Nutrients, Anti-nutrients, Cassava leaves, proximate composition, Vitamin A, Minerals. www.jamonline.in 387

J. Atoms and Molecules / 2(5); 2012 / 387393 Introduction: Cassava (Manihot esculenta C.) is a perennial shrub which is grown throughout the lowland tropics. It is the major staple food crop in Nigeria supplying about 70% of the daily calorie of about 50 million Nigerians [1]. Cassava is very closely associated with extreme poverty because it is grown and eaten mainly people with few economic resources in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Cassava survives long droughts by shedding its leaves and going dormant until rain returns. It is also a plant capable of growing in soils that is very acidic, low in nutrients and high in toxic Aluminium conditions compounds. are These growing in

Udoetok IA & Ufai ID cultures [3]. The cultivation of cassava is increasing rapidly as productive new varieties are created and international markets for cassava products are developed. Cassava has gained increased industrial, economic and nutritional importance over the years, because of the multifarious uses of the starch-rich tuber or roots and leaves. Since many people are already eating cassava leaves, the question is not whether to eat them but rather how to eat them. Encouraging the use of low HCN varieties is critical to this effort. A grinding technique that ruptures cell wall followed by blanching may dramatically reduce the total amount of HCN in the leaves. Blanching is a cooking process wherein the food substance, usually a vegetable or fruit, is plunged into boiling water, removed after a brief timed interval, and finally plunged into iced water or placed under cold running water (shocked) to halt the cooking process. It was against this backdrop that we decided to evaluate the effect of blanching on the concentrations nutrients, minerals and antinutrients in leaves of three widely cultivated varieties of cassava (Manihot esculenta C.) in Nigeria. The information obtained from this study shall be useful to the numerous consumers of cassava leaves as it will shade more light on the nutritive value of these varieties, the effect of blanching on the nutritional and anti-nutritional properties of the leaves and possibly recommend the

increasingly common

degraded agricultural ecosystems of the tropics. Its ability to produce food under such harsh conditions make cassava the poor mans friend [2]. In many cassava growing regions, the leaves are eaten as well as the roots. The value of both the leaves and the roots is limited by the presence of Hydrocyanic acid (HCN), a common plant toxin. Several cases of goats dying after eating cassava leaves actually magnify the problem. One would be tempted to stay clear of cassava leaves altogether to avoid any toxicity problems, except that the plant has several important attributes as a leaf crop. In addition to growing under difficult conditions, cassava leaves are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals that are needed to balance the heavy diet of many tropical All rights reserved 2011

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J. Atoms and Molecules / 2(5); 2012 / 387393 varieties that are most appropriate for use as a leafy vegetable. Experimental: Sample collection and Treatment Random samples of leaves of the three most widely cultivated cassava in Akwa Ibom State (TMS 30555, NR 8083 and TMS 30211) were collected from Akwa Ibom Agricultural Development Program (AKADEP) farm in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. All the samples were cultivated in the humid tropical rainforest zone where the rains which fall between March and

Udoetok IA & Ufai ID Analyses of nutritional and anti-nutritional values Nutritional values for the samples were determined before and after blanching. The methods adopted by [9] [10] [11] [3] and [12] were used. The anti-nutrients content was estimated by standard procedures described by [13] [14] [15] and [7] All analyses were carried out in triplicate. Results and Discussions Proximate composition The proximate composition of the samples is reported in table 1. These results reveal that before blanching, the moisture content of the samples was between 58.0% and 64.0%, Ash content was between 6.3% and 7.7%, crude fat was between 8.6% and 10.0%, and crude protein was between 14.5% to 33.8%, crude fiber was between 4.2% to 5.1%,

September/October average between 1150 and 2000mm annually. All samples were a composite of fully expanded and mature leaves. About 2kg leaves collected from each of the varieties were thoroughly mixed, rinsed with distilled water and dried at 60oC in an oven for three hours. The dry samples were ground to fine powder, passed through a 30mm mesh sieve and stored in air tight containers, from where required amounts were taken for analyses. Blanching All determinations were carried out before and after blanching. For blanched samples, the blanching was carried out according to standard method described by [4]. Determination of vitamins The vitamin A contents of the samples were determined by standard methods described by [5] [6] [7] and [8]. All rights reserved 2011

carbohydrate was between 44.7% to 66.4% and caloric value was between 392.3 kcal to 406.0kcal. Moisture content and crude

fat(lipid) was highest in NR 8083 before blanching and was still highest in the same sample after. It therefore suggests that this sample with the highest moisture may be the most succulent and susceptible to decay. Ash content of leaves reflect its mineral and elemental composition, consequently, the leaves of TMS 30555 with the highest ash content may be the richest in mineral and elemental composition. Crude fiber and protein were also highest in TMS 30555 thus www.jamonline.in 389

J. Atoms and Molecules / 2(5); 2012 / 387393 corroborating the fact that this sample may have the highest mineral and elemental composition. Crude fiber is the insoluble material remaining after severe acid and base hydrolysis. Carbohydrate content was highest in TMS 30211 with a value of 66.4%. From the above, it may be deduced that blanching adversely affects the proximate composition of the samples, since there were reduction in the concentration of all the proximate parameters after the treatment. Antinutrient composition The results for anti-nutritional factors for the leaves before and after blanching are

Udoetok IA & Ufai ID the treatment. This parameter was highest in NR 8083 before and after blanching. Tannin had the least concentration of all the antinutritional factors analyzed. It had

concentrations of 16.0mg/kg, 14.8mg/kg and 10.2mg/kg in TMS 30555, NR 8083 and TMS 30211 respectively before blanching and 4.8mg/kg, 4.0mg/kg and 5.2mg/kg after blanching respectively. The concentration of phytate in the samples ranged between 190mg/kg and 220mg/kg before blanching and 180.1mg/kg to 200.0mg/kg after

blanching. The above results reveal that blanching may be a veritable tool for reducing the antinutrient content of cassava leaves. Reference [18] reported the decrease in antinutritional of asparagus been flower after soaking, blanching and cooking. [19] also reported that blanching reduced both the nutritional and anti-nutritional values of nonconventional vegetables. Vitamin A content of samples Vitamins are potent organic compounds found in certain food and perform specific and vital functions in body chemistry [20]. Our body needs them for growth, function, energy, tissue repair and waste removal. They are like electric sparks which help to run human motors [21]. Vitamin A among other

presented in Table 2. The anti-nutritional factors are the major factors limiting the wide use of many plants as they are present in the plants naturally and capable of eliciting deleterious effects in man and animals [16]. The anti-nutritional factors; oxalate, HCN, tannin, and phytate were present in varying amounts in all the vegetables. Phytate has been reported to reduce the bioavailability of trace element and minerals [17] and [16]. HCN was highest in TMS 30211 with a value of 270.0mg/kg but reduced drastically to 62.0mg/kg, showing a percentage reduction of 77.03%. Oxalate of all had the the highest

concentration factors. Its

anti-nutritional ranged from

functions help to regulate cell development, promotes bone and teeth development, and boosts the body immune system.

concentration

5000mg/kg to 7590mg/kg before blanching and ranged from 485mg/kg to 680mg/kg after

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J. Atoms and Molecules / 2(5); 2012 / 387393 The result of this study (table 2) shows that these varieties of cassava leaves are rich in vitamin A before and after blanching. NR 8083 had the highest value of 1137673.0 mg/kg before blanching and still had the highest after blanching. Mineral Composition of samples The concentrations of minerals in the samples are recorded in table 4. This results show that NR 8083 had the highest mineral

Udoetok IA & Ufai ID affect the potentials of the leaves as a leafy vegetable. It may be concluded that cassava leaves may be blanched and used as leafy vegetables because of it rich mineral and nutritional values. References 1. O. L. Oke (1968). Cassava as a Food in Nigeria. World Rev. Nutr. Dietec. 9:227. 2. D. J. Rogers (1963). Studies on manihot esculenta C. and related species. Bull Torrey Bot. Club, 90 (1): 43 45. 3. I. A. Udoetok (2001). A comparative study of the Nutrient and Antinutrient content of leaves of some varieties of Cassava. (manihot esculenta C). A B.Sc. thesis, University of Uyo, Nigeria. 4. G. I. O. Badifu, E. M. Okeke (1992). Effect of Blanching on Oxalate,

concentration while TMS 30211 had the least. Concentration of the minerals in TMS 30555 was as follows: Ca was 2905 0.08 mg/kg, Mg was 238 0.22 mg/kg, Zn was 730 0.12 mg/kg, K was 680 0.09 mg/kg, P was 2420 0.17mg/kg while Fe. 121 0.15mg/kg. The result also reveals that Ca had the highest concentration of all the minerals. This result is corroborated by the fact that crude protein, ash and crude fibre were highest in this sample. It may be deduced from the above result that these varieties of cassava leaves have high concentration of minerals. Conclusions This researched looked at the effect of blanching on the nutritional and anti-

Hydrocyanic 205 Acid and Saponin of our Nigeria Leafy Vegetables. J. Agric. Sci. Technol. pp. 71-75 5. G.Paul, (1967) The Vitamin 1st Edn., Academic Press, NY, USA, pp. 40-47 6. G. Paul, S. Pearson (2005). The Vitamin 2nd Edn., Academic Press, New York, 2 USA, pp. 31-32. 7. I. I. Nkafamiya, A. J. Manji, U.U. Modibbo, H.A. Umaru (2006).

nutritional properties of leaves of some varieties of cassava. The results obtained have shown that blanching can decrease both the nutritional and anti-nutritional properties of the samples. Though it has been seen that blanching decreases the nutritional properties of the samples, the decrement does not really All rights reserved 2011

Biochemical Evaluation of Casspourea congoensis (Tunti) and Nuclea latifloia (Luzzi). Fruits. Afr. J. Biotechnol., 6(19): 2461-2463. www.jamonline.in 391

J. Atoms and Molecules / 2(5); 2012 / 387393 8. I. I. Nkafamiya, S. A. Osemeahon, D. Dahiru, H. A. Umaru, (2007a).Studies on the Chemical Composition and

Udoetok IA & Ufai ID Nutritional Quality of Vitamins and Minerals. Adv. Exp. Biol., 15: 450-1006. 16. D. Kubmarawa, I. F. H. Andenyang, A.M. Magomya (2008). Amino Acid Profile of Two Non-conventional Leafy Vegetables, Sesamu indium and Balanite aegyptiaca. Afr. J. Biotechnol. 7(18): 3502-3504. 17. D. F. Apata, A. D. Ologhobo (1989). Influence of Phytic Acid on the

physiochemic Properties of Seeds of Baobab (Adansonia digitata). Afr. J. Biotechnol., 6(6): 756-759. 9. A. Maragoni, I. Ali (1987). Composition and Properties of Seeds and Pods of the Trees Legumes Prosopsis juliflora (D.C). J. Sci. Food Agric., 44(2): 99-110. 10. S. S. Nielson (1994). Introduction to Chemical Analysis of Foods, Jones and Bartleh Publishers international, London, pp. 93-201. 11. W. Cocks, C. Pede (1996). Laboratory Handbook of Oil and Fat Analysis. Academic Press, New York, London, pp.30-130. 12. I. I. Nkafamiya, U.U. Modibbo, A.J. Manji, D. Haggai (2007b). Nutrient Content of Seeds of some Wild Plants. Afr. J. Biotechnol., 6(14): 1665-1669 13. M. C. Price, L. C. Buter (1977). Antinutritional Content of some Forage Crops. J. Agric. Food Chem., 25(6): 1268-1373. 14. A. T. Ukpadi, O. A. Ejidon (1989).

Availability of Minerals from Selected Tropical Legumes Seeds. J. Sci., 23:8890. 18. J. N. Nwosu (2010). Effect of Soaking, Blanching and Cooking on the Antinutritional Properties of Asparagus Bean (Vigna Sesquipedis) Flour. Nature and science 8 (8): 163 167. 19. I.I. Nkafamiya, S.A. Osemeahon, U.U. Modibbo, D. Haggai (2010). Vitamins and effect of blanching on nutritional and antinutritional values of non- conventional leafy vegetables. Afr. J. of Food Science 4(6): 335 341. 20. B. Julie (2003). The Importance of Vitamin and their Role in Our Body. Ezine Articles, pp. 1-5. 21. T. Tanu (1998). Vitamins and their role. Jones and Bartleh Publishers

Experimental Procedures for Food and Water Analysis, Computer Edge

Publishers Calabar, Nigeria, pp. 84-88 15. M. B. Reddy, M. Love (1999). The Impact of Food Processing on the

International, London, pp. 106-117.

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J. Atoms and Molecules / 2(5); 2012 / 387393 Table 1: Proximate composition of the samples Moisture (%) TMS 30555(a) 58.0 0.12 TMS 30555(b) 50.0 0.20 64.4 0.08 NR 8083 (a) 62.2 0.10 NR 8083 (b) TMS 30211 (a) 61.1 0.25 TMS 30211 (b) 59.5 0.20 (a) unblanched sample (b) - blanched sample Table 2. Antinutrient composition of the samples (mg/kg) Sample TMS 30555(a) TMS 30555(b) NR 8083 (a) NR 8083 (b) TMS 30211 (a) TMS 30211 (b) (a) unblanched sample (b) - blanched sample HCN 108.0 0.08 22.0 0.02 162.0 0.01 48.0 0.01 270.0 0.03 62.0 0.03 Oxalate 5280.0 0.24 540.0 0.20 7590.0 0.21 680.0 0.21 5000.5 0.23 485.0 0.25 Tannin 16.0 0.01 4.8 0.01 14.8 0.02 4.0 0.02 10.2 0.01 5.2 0.01 Sample Ash (%) 7.7 0.15 6.1 0.12 6.6 0.22 6.0 0.15 6.3 0.14 5.8 0.12 Fat (lipid) (%) 8.7 0.24 7.9 0.14 10.0 0.12 8.6 0.17 8.6 0.15 6.8 0.16 Crude Protein (%) 33.8 0.12 28.2 0.18 32.9 0.17 27.2 0.16 14.5 0.14 11.7 0.10

Udoetok IA & Ufai ID

Crude Fibre (%) 5.1 0.18 2.5 0.21 4.4 0.09 2.2 0.18 4.2 0.10 2.1 0.22

Carbohydrate (%) 44.7 0.16 22.5 0.17 46.1 0.15 23.5 0.21 66.4 0.10 33.2 0.12

Phytate 190.0 0.01 180.1 0.01 215.2 0.02 192.1 0.02 220.4 0.01 200.0 0.01

Table 3: Vitamin A content of samples Sample TMS 30555(a) TMS 30555(b) NR 8083 (a) NR 8083 (b) TMS 30211 (a) TMS 30211 (b) (a) unblanched sample (b) - blanched sample Concentration (mg/kg) 814516.1 602345.5 1137673.0 923564.8 936059.9 543283.7

Table 4: Mineral composition of samples Sample TMS 30555 NR 8083 TMS 30211 Ca (mg/kg) 2905 0.08 2202 0.12 1802 0.20 Mg(mg/kg) 238 0.22 215 0.15 115 0.12 Zn (mg/kg) 730 0.12 680 0.24 540 0.16 K (mg/kg) 2420 0.17 1440 0.12 2000 0.10 P (mg/kg) 680 0.09 520 0.18 600 0.22 Fe (mg/kg) 121 0.15 110 0.16 104 0.12

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