Comparative chemical analysis of Cucumeropsis edulis and Adenopus breviflorus as affected by heat treatment

Abstract

Adenopus breviflorus is a perennial climber; it has the potentials to serve a dual purpose of being used as a protein supplement. This research was undertaken to compare the chemical composition of the raw and cooked Cucumeropsis edulis (edible) and Adenopus breviflorus (wild). The results of the proximate composition for the raw and cooked samples of Cucumeropsis edulis were crude protein (10.2 3 0.03 and 6.92 0.08 ), ether extract (2.43 0.03 and 2.13 0.09 ), crude fibre (11.80 0.16 and 31.8 0.15 ) and ash 8.23 0.14 and 9.60 0.20 ) while those for A. breviflorus were crude protein (17.29 0.15 and 9.89 0.13 ), ether extract 2.53 0.15 and 1.40 0.06 ), crude fibre (29.95 0.52 and 21.8 0.12 ) respectively. Sodium, Potassium and Magnesium content were higher in the raw C. edulis and Adenopus breviflorus samples. The levels of anti-nutrient substances (hydrocyanic acid, oxalate, phytic acid were higher in the raw than in the cooked samples of both cucurbits. Cooking brought about a reduction of 41.9 in phytic acid content in the pulp of A. breviflorus, while hydrocyanic acid had the least percentage decrease of 12.6 in the pulp of A. breviflorus.