ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF GINGER (Zingiber officinale) ANDGARLIC (Allium sativum) FLOUR CULTIVATED IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) and garlic (Allium sativum) are important spices widely consumed for their culinary and medicinal values. Despite their widespread availability and use, comprehensive data on the varieties grown in northern Nigeria are scarce. This study, therefore, examined the proximate, phytochemical, and amino acid profiles of ginger and garlic flour cultivated in Kaduna State using Standard Analytical Methods with three replicates per sample. Statistical analyses, such as mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and Student’s t-test at 5 % significance level, were performed. The proximate composition values (%) of ginger and garlic were as follows: crude protein (15.21 and 11.16), crude fat (4.03 and 2.65), ash (5.90 and 7.12), crude fiber (5.15 and 20.22), moisture (6.42 and 5.52), and carbohydrates (63.29 and 53.33). The calculated metabolizable energy was 1483.61 and 1194.38 kJ/100 g for ginger and garlic, respectively. Phytochemical analysis revealed high tannin levels in both samples (ginger, 160.38 mg/100 g; garlic, 170.33 mg/100 g), with garlic showing higher oxalate (7.64 %), alkaloid (10.43 %), and phenol (1.43 %) contents, whereas ginger had greater flavonoid (9.39 %) concentration. Garlic showed adequacy in isoleucine, leucine and phenylalanine + tyrosine, but was limited in lysine, methionine + cystine and tryptophan. In contrast, ginger was limited in all essential amino acids. These findings indicate that ginger and garlic flour from Kaduna State are nutritionally valuable spices that support their potential for application in food fortification and health-promoting applications