Evaluation of the Mineral and Vitamin Compositions of Leaves of Alchornea cordifolia and Thaumatococcus daniellii

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate the vitamin and mineral compositions of leaves of Alchornea cordifolia and Thaumatococcus daniellii. Standard methods were employed to determine the vitamin and mineral compositions of plant samples. Results obtained from the study showed that the concentration of vitamin B6 (4.46±0.02 mg/100 g) was significantly (P<0.05) higher than those of other vitamins reportedly present in Alchornea cordifolia leaf. However, the least in concentration of all the vitamins present being Vit C (0.34±0.02 mg/100 g). Results on the mineral compositions of leaf of Alchornea cordifolia revealed that the leaf contains significantly (P<0.05) higher concentration of phosphorus (4.58±0.13 mg/100 g) compared to those of other minerals found present while zinc was found to be available at the least concentration of (0.90±0.04 mg/100 g). Thaumatococcus daniellii leaf contains a significantly (P<0.05) higher concentration of vitamin B12 compared to all other vitamins present. Results on the mineral compositions however, revealed that leaf of Thaumatococcus daniellii contains considerable amounts of calcium (6.15±0.03 mg/100 g) which was not significantly (P<0.05) different from the value reported for phosphorus (5.75±0.12 mg/100 g) which as well was not significantly (P<0.05) different from potassium (5.30±0.14 mg/100 g). However, zinc was reportedly present in the plant sample at the concentration of (1.42±0.02 mg/100 g). In conclusion, findings from this work have expanded the knowledge about Alchornea cordifolia and Thaumatococcus daniellii while consolidating already established facts on their therapeutic potentials.