ABSTRACT
The effective utilization of any plant source in food supplementation or in new product formulation is based on the knowledge of their nutritional composition and functional properties. In this study the proximate analysis, vitamin content, mineral content and antinutrient analysis of pigeon pea was investigated using, (AOAC, 1984), for proximate analysis, (Adrian, 1973) method for vitamins, and (Adrian, 1973) method for mineral analysis. Results of the proximate analysis gives the following: moisture content (7.88%), ash content (4.18%), fiber content (8.99%), fat content (2.59%), protein content (21.87%), carbohydrate content (54.48mg%).The predominant vitamin were vitamin A (64.15%), and vitamin C (87.6mg%). The mineral analysis revealed higher value for magnesium (22.04 ppm) and calcium (27.10 ppm). Pigeon pea contains little amount of antinutrients which may interfere with the utilization of the nutrients contained in it. For example, the following were observed from the experimental result; cyanogenic glycoside (1.782%), phytate (0.335%), tannin (0.952%), and cardiac glycoside (0.189%). The high protein content of the seed is essential for growth, formation of bones and muscles while the fiber content increases the metabolism rate and reduce the possibility of weight gain.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Certification page. ii
Dedication. iii
Acknowledgement. iv
Abstract. v
Table of contents. vi
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction. 1 1.1 Aim. 2
1.2 Objectives. 3
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Literature Review. 4
2.1 Description of pigeon pea. 4
2.2 Taxonomy. 6
2.3 Health benefits of pigeon pea. 7
2.4 Uses and consumption of pigeon pea. 10
2.5 Nutritional contents of pigeon pea. 11
2.6 Vitamins. 11
2.6.1 Health benefits of vitamins. 13
2.6.2 Deficiency of vitamins. 14
2.7 Minerals. 15
2.8 Anti-nutrients. 17
2.9. Proximate analysis. 19
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 Materials. 22
3.1.1 Reagent 22
3.1.2 Apparatus. 23
3.2.0 Methods. 23
3.2.1 Determination of Ash content. 23
3.2.2 Determination of moisture content. 24
3.2.3 Determination of crude fat. 24
3.2.4 Determination of crude fiber. 25
3.2.5 Determination of crude protein. 25
3.2.6 Determination of carbohydrate 26
3.3 Determination of vitamin A 27
3.3.1 Determination of vitamin E. 27
3.3.2 Determination of vitamin B1 and B2. 28
3.3.3 Determination of vitamin B3. 28
3.3.4 Determination of vitamin B6 29
3.3.5 Determination of vitamin B12. 29
3.3.6 Determination of vitamin D&K 29
3.4.1 Phenol determination. 30
3.4.2 Determination of steroid content. 30
3.4.3 Determination of terpenoids. 31
3.4.4 Cardiac glycoside determination. 31
3.4.5 Tannin determination. 32
3.4.6 Phytate determination. 33
3.4.7 Oxalate determination 33
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 Result. 34
4.1 The Result for Proximate Content of Pigeon Pea 34
4.2 The Result for Vitamin Content of Pigeon Pea 35
4.3 The Result for Mineral Composition of Pigeon Pea 36
4.4 The Result for Anti-Nutrients Composition of Pigeon Pea 37
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Discussion. 38
5.2 Conclusion 40
References. 41 Appendix. 46
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig 1. Seeds of pigeon pea 5
Fig 2. The pigeon pea plant 6
Fig 4.1 The Result for Proximate Content of Pigeon Pea 34
Fig 4.2 The Result for Vitamin Content of Pigeon Pea 35
Fig 4.3 The Result for Mineral Composition of Pigeon Pea 36
Fig 4.4 The Result for Anti-Nutrients Composition of Pigeon Pea 37
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Legumes are low‐priced sources of protein‐rich foods that have been important in alleviating protein malnutrition and in the tropics; they are the next important food crop after cereals (Oyarekua, 2009). Leguminous seeds include soybean, cowpea, groundnut, pigeon pea (fio-fio), mucuna (velvet beans), jack bean, oil bean, and chicken pea. The legume and grain families are by far the world’s most important sources of food; grains supply starch, whereas legumes which include bean, peas, and alfalfa supply protein and fats. Legumes are rich sources of protein, energy, vitamins, dietary fibre, minerals, and oil, especially the oil‐seeds (Arawande and Borokini, 2010). Cereals are deficient in lysine and tryptophan, but rich in methionine and cysteine, whereas legumes are deficient in sulfur‐containing amino acids such as methionine and cysteine, and rich in lysine (Sodipo and Fashakin, 2011). There is a need to combine the cereals and legumes together so as to complement each other.
Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) is a locally available, affordable, and underutilized grain legume of the tropics and subtropics (Fasoyiro et al, 2010). Pigeon pea uses include soil improvement, agroforestry, intercropping, food, feed, wood, and pest management. Pigeon pea is reported to contain 20%–22% protein, 1%–2% fat, 65% carbohydrate, and 6.8% ash (Onweluzo and Nwabugwu, 2009) and rich in mineral quality and fibre content. It is known as “otili” in the South‐western part of Nigeria. In South‐eastern Nigeria, it is usually consumed in cooked form like cooked beans and most consumers prefer to cook “fio‐fio”, as it is usually called, with firewood due to the long period of time it takes to soften. The presence of antinutrients in pigeon pea has limited its utilization. Fermentation process had also been utilized to increase the protein and textural qualities of the seeds (Fasoyiro et al., 2010).
Proximate analysis is a set of methods to get information about the nutritional value of food. They were developed around 1850 in Germany especially for animal feed (Adeyeye et al., 2015). It uses some chemical-physical properties of a special group of nutrients in their methods. The analysis contains: dry matter by drying at 103C; ash by incineration at 550C, crude protein by kjeldahl determination of nitrogen, crude fibre as the organic fraction remaining after acid and alkaline hydrolysis and crude fat as the fraction extracted with petroleum ether. Proximate Analysis involves the partitioning of compounds in a food into six categories based on the chemical properties of the compounds (Adeyeye et al., 2015). The six categories are: moisture, ash, crude protein (or Kjeldahl protein), crude lipid, crude fibre, nitrogen-free extracts (digestible carbohydrates).
1.1 AIM
The aim of this work is to determine the nutritional composition of pigeon pea.
1.2. OBJECTIVES
The Objectives of this research are:
- To determine the proximate analysis of pigeon pea.
- To determine the vitamin content of pigeon pea.
- To determine the mineral content of pigeon pea.
- To determine the anti-nutrient composition of pigeon pea.
