Thembinkosi Ndebele, Tuarira Abduel Mtaita*, Chakeredza Sebastian and Kenias Simbi

Department of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Africa University, Mutare-Zimbabwe

*Corresponding Author: Tuarira Abduel Mtaita, Department of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Africa University, Mutare-Zimbabwe.

Received: June 16, 2023; Published: November 29, 2023

Abstract

This research was carried out to analyse nutritional composition of three indigenous and underutilized vegetables commonly found in Zimbabwe. Vegetables are an important part of diet providing essential nutrients. The objective of the study was to determine whether the three vegetables, black jack (Bidens pilosa), pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) and spider flower (Cleome gynandra) potentially have substantial nutrient content to meet consumption requirements. Focus towards indigenous vegetables that are locally and easily available to the resource-poor families can ensure to the essential nutrients requirements. The vegetables were analysed for crude protein content, mineral content specifically calcium, sodium, iron, zinc and magnesium. The data gathered from the proximate and mineral analysis was subjected to analysis of variance at 5% level of confidence. The spider flower had 22.94% crude protein, 0.33% calcium, 0.07% iron, 0.19% magnesium, 0.08% sodium and 53ppm zinc. Pumpkin leaves had 11.66% crude protein, 0.3% calcium, 0.03% iron, 0.26% magnesium, 0.04% sodium and 61ppm zinc. Blackjack comprised of 16.03% crude protein, 0.03% calcium, 0.04% iron, 0.2% magnesium, 0.019 sodium and 57ppm zinc. It can be concluded therefore that, these indigenous vegetables can be used to help alleviate food insecurity and malnutrition as they contain substantial level of nutrients needed in diets. Spider flower, blackjack and pumpkin leaves can be included or supplemented in diets to help meet Recommended Dietary Allowances.

Keywords: Bidens Pilosa; Cucurbita maxima; Cleome gynandra; Nutritional Profile; Indigenous Vegetables

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Citation

Citation: Tuarira Abduel Mtaita., et al. “Nutritional Profile of Three [3] Selected Underutilised Indigenous Vegetables in Zimbabwe". Acta Scientific Agriculture 7.12 (2023): 56-60.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 Tuarira Abduel Mtaita., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.