Nutritional Composition of ‘Aju Mbaise’ Herbal Cocktail

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the nutritional content of ‘Aju Mbaise’ herbal mixture. The experiment involves the collection of fresh plant samples that make up ‘Aju Mbaise’ cocktail. The study was done in the Research Laboratory of the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The plants samples were collected from Mbaise locality in Imo State, Nigeria, and were identified as Cnestis ferruginea, Xylopia aethiopica, Uvaria chamae, Palisota hirsuta, Scleria sp., Napoleona imperialis, Dialium guineense, Combretum racemosun, and Heterotis rotundifolia respectively. The dietary, mineral, and vitamin compositions were determined accordingly. The proximate, vitamin, and mineral composition of the herbal cocktail were investigated in line with their standard methods of analysis. The proximate analysis revealed that the cocktail extract contains carbohydrate (69.51%), crude protein (10.05%), moisture (8.89%), crude fat (5.17%), fibre (3.745), and ash content (2.65%). The vitamin analysis revealed reasonable concentration of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, D, and K. The mineral evaluation showed high concentration of calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, and iron. This study revealed high nutritional value of ‘Aju Mbaise’ herbal cocktail which is responsible for the plant’s usefulness in the management, treatment, as well as maintenance of good health.