Assessment Of the Nutrients and Phytochemical Composition of Ripe and Unripe Pulp and Seeds of White Rubber Vine (Landolphia Owariensis)

The nutrient and phytochemical assessment of ripe and unripe pulp and seeds of white rubber vine (Landolphia owariensis) was carried out. Ripe and unripe white rubber vine fruits were washed, cut open to obtain the seeds and pulps. The seeds and pulps were analyzed for proximate, dietary fibre, vitamins, mineral and phytochemical contents. The values obtained for the proximate compositions of the samples were within 15.22% to 31.85% (moisture); 0.57% to 2.87% (fat); 2.37% to 3.62% (ash); 2.61% to 3.58% (fibre); 6.31% to 9.03% (protein) and 55.95% to 66.13% (carbohydrate). The results revealed that seeds of white rubber vine contained higher quantity of fat, ash, fibre and protein while its pulps are richer in moisture and carbohydrate. The dietary fibre content of the samples ranged from 1.48% to 6.2%. The result revealed that the dietary fibre content of the seeds are higher than that of the pulp and ripening also reduced the dietary fibre content of both the pulp and seeds. The micronutrient contents of the white rubber vines were in the range of 3.44mg/100g to 5.87mg/100g (iron); 81.78mg/100g to 106.29mg/100g (potassium); 1.32 mg/100g to 1.73mg/100g (zinc); 84.02mg/100g to 90.50mg/100g (calcium), 9.77mg/100g to 18.54mg/100g (phosphorus), 2.74mg/100g to 19.79mg/100g (magnesium). Most of the minerals were higher in the ripe samples more than the unripe whereas the phytochemical contents reduced in the ripe seeds and pulps. The study generally proved that seeds and pulps of this lesser known and under-utilized fruit have the potentials of supplying nutrients and phytochemicals necessary for proper functionality of human cells and therefore, their consumption or incorporation in food formulation should be encouraged.