Analysis of Nutritional Components of Some Wild Edible Plants

Anal si of nutritional components of Amaranthus viridis, Chenopodium murale, Nasturtium officinale and Scandix pecten-veneris was the objective of this study. Plants leaves were analysed for their proximate, minerals and fatty acid composition. Values for moisture, ash, crude protein, lipids, fibre, carbohydrates and computed energy are given. The essential bulk metal ions in the four vegetables were observed to be dominant, where K (2206-3600 mg/ 100g) was the highest and Na (109-381 mg/ 100g) was lowest. The decreasing order of essential trace metal ions concentrations was Fe > Cu > Zn > Mn > Cr > Ni. Gas chromatographic analysis revealed that palmitic acid (15.84-25.31 %) was the principal saturated; oleic acid (1.96-8.04 %) the highest monounsaturated, while a-linolenic acid (15.23-36.64 %) was found to be the predominant polyunsaturated fatty acid. The results of the study demonstrated that these wild plants could contribute useful amounts of macro and essential micronutrients, if integrated fully into human diets.