Comparative study of the nutritional composition of matured green and red fruits of <i>Dennettia tripetala</i> – A threatened indigenous forest fruit species

Abstract

Dennettia tripetala is one of the threatened forest species. It is referred to as a “peppery fruit”. The fruit serve as a stimulant and eaten raw. It is still green when matured and turn from yellow to red if left for sometime after reaching maturity. Dennettia tripetala is one of the most cherished stimulants. However, there is lack of adequate information on the nutritional composition of this species. This work therefore examined the nutrient composition of both the matured green and red fruits. The result obtained showed that the pulpy bark of the green fruit had the highest amount of moisture (55.10%), oil/fat (3.40%) and magnesium (0.37%). While the seeds from the green fruit had the highest amount of carbohydrate (80.75%) and calorific value of 356.42 kilojoules. The pulpy bark of the red fruit had the highest amount ash (18.54%), crude fibre (19.80%), crude protein (16.20%), potassium (4.21%), sodium (0.038% and nitrogen (2.59%). Seed from the red fruit had the highest amount of dry matter (95.40%), carbohydrate (59.88%), calcium (1.403%) and vitamin C (11.0%). On the average the red fruits had higher nutritional composition than the green fruits. Although the matured green fruits are commonly available, it is important to combine matured green and red fruits of this species when consuming this species.

Keywords: Dennettia tripetala, nutritional composition, peppery fruit, stimulant