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IDENTIFICATION, CONSUMPTION PATTERN AND NUTRIENT COMPOSITION OF PROCESSED GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES AND THEIR YAM DISHES AS CONSUMED IN IGBO- UKWU IN ANAMBRA STATE NIGERIA

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ABSTRACT

The thrust of this work was to identify some popular and lesser-known cultivated and forest green leafy vegetables consumed in Igbo-ukwu, Aguata LGA,  Anambra  State, Nigeria. Those identified include ugbogulu, eliemionu, ariraa, okpa okuku, ugu oyibo and  abuba ji nwannu, used in this study. These vegetables were purchased in bulk from Igboukwu daily market, cleaned and divided into 3 portions. Fresh portions served as the controls. The sun and the shade dried samples were the processed portions.

These cleaned vegetables and their products were analysed for various nutrients, anti- nutrients  and food toxicants  using  standard  methods.  Both  nutrient  contents  of the vegetables and their dishes as well as the organoleptic  attributes  of the dishes were ascertained.  The data generated  from both the vegetable  and  their yam dishes were analysed using percentages,  means, standard deviation  and  the standard error of the mean.  New  multiple  Duncan’s  studentized  range  test  was  applied  to  separate  and compare means.

Ugbogulu, ( Curcubita pepo),  ariraa. ( Corchorus trideus tiliaceae) eliemionu. (Celosia argentea), ugu oyibo. (Jatropha aconitisolia), okpa okuku (Uvarae chamae) and abuba ji  nwannu  (  Ipomoea  batatas)  were  identified  by  Igbo-ukwu  women  as  wild  and cultivated  edible  vegetables.  Both  parents  and  grandparents form  major  sources  of information  about  cultivation,  harvesting,  processing,  preparation  and  utilization  of yam dishes based on these vegetables. These vegetable are on the verge of extinction due to poor nutrition  education,  migration  of youths and young adults,  seasonality, change  in  lifestyles,  nutrition  transition  and  food  habits.  Sun  and  shade  drying increased many nutrients such as protein from 10.70 to 19.40%. These processes also increased some micronutrients. Iodine, copper, and calcuium increased from traces to 5.08 and 4.43mg; 0.2 to 2.4 and 1.7mg; from 0.2 to 11.5 and 22.00mg, respectively. These  processes  increased  phytate,  oxalate,  tannins  and  saponins  from  0.00mg  to 125.58 and 116.5mg; traces to 135.50mg and 112.3mg; traces to 0.15 and 0.16mg and from traces to 0.05 and 0.05mg, respectively.

The  yam  dishes  prepared  with  fresh,  sun  and  shade  dried,  as  well  as  pulverized vegetables had increased protein from  5.4 in A-102 –yam dish prepared with sun dried ugu oyibo  to 12.6%  in A-101 –yam dish prepared with shade dried and ash from 4.6 in in A-103- yam dish prepared with shade dried okpa okuko   to 9.50% in A-105-yam dish prepared with fresh sweet potato.. These dishes had  traces of phytate, oxalate, tannins and saponins. However,  dish prepared with  sun  dried ugu oyibo leaves had increases in phytate oxalate, tannins and saponins  and food toxicants from (traces to 1.21,4.34,16.6 and 14.5g, respectively).

Iron, zinc, copper and calcium in these dishes increased. Iron increased from 3.5  to 33.5mg, zinc from traces to 4.2mg, copper from traces mg to 1.4mg and calcium from 2.00 to 25.50mg, respectively. The dishes prepared with fermented oil bean seeds, fresh okpa okuku leaves and fresh sweet potato leaves had increases in  beta-carotene  that ranged from traces to 52.00, 25.3 and 24.9mg each.

The dishes prepared with fresh sweet potato leaves and that prepared with fresh ugu oyibo leaves had the best organoleptic attributes and general acceptability. (7.5 and 7.3, respectively).

1.1  Background information

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

Inadequate food and nutrient intake, improper feeding practices, poor nutrition education, insufficient food availability at household level, domestic processing techniques and food preparation  methods  are  among  the  major  causes  of   malnutrition  (NDHS,  1990). Nutrition  and  nutrition-related  diseases  continue  to  be  a  problem  of  public  health significance in Nigeria.

Several  efforts  are in place  to reduce  malnutrition.  These  efforts  amongst  others  are studies  undertaken  in  Nigeria  to  assess  the  prevalence  of  malnutrition  in  the  target population.

Some of these studies were the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS, 1990), the Participatory Information Collection study (PIC, 1993), the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS, 1995), the Benchmark Survey (1996) and the most recent, National Food Consumption and Nutrition Survey (NFCNS) (IITA, 2004) among others.

These studies over the years established high prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition (PEM), especially in children 0-5 and pre-school (IITA, 2004). PEM  contributes to as much as 52% of all deaths (Micro Nutrient Initiative, 2004).

National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS,1990 ) reported 43% stunting among children under five, the UNICEF/OAU Participatory Information Collection study (PIC,

1993) reported 52% stunting, 9% wasting and 36% underweight among children of the same age group.

UNICEF (2004) estimated that approximately one out of three of the children younger than five years are chronically malnourished. They are trapped early in life pattern of ill health and poor development.

It is widely accepted that PEM is associated with a number of micronutrient deficiencies. Micronutrient deficiencies, for example iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) are also common and contribute to poor physical,  emotional  and  mental  development  of  children  as  well  as  reduction  in productivity and decreased efficiency in adults, especially mothers.

The UNICEF  (1993)  study reported  that 35% of mothers  and 29% of children  were anaemic, 7.3% of mothers and 9.2% of children were Vitamin A deficient.

The National Micronutrient  Survey (1993) reported even higher figures – 62%  women and 75% children were anaemic and 1 out of every 3 children was Vitamin A deficient. The results of Nigeria Food Consumption and Nutrition Survey (IITA, 2004) showed that despite the advances made over the years in agriculture, research and production, 29.5% of children under 5 were suffering from Vitamin A  deficiency, 13.1% of mothers and

19.2%  of  pregnant  women  at  national  level  were  considered  at  risk  of  Vitamin  A

deficiency, respectively.

About   27.5%   of  children   under   5  were  at  different   stages   of  iron   deficiency. Approximately, 24.3% of mothers and 35.5% of pregnant women were at different stages of iron deficiency

Zinc  is  now  recognized  as  an  essential  micronutrient  critical  in  human   nutrition (UNICEF, 2002). The clinical syndromes associated with zinc deficiency include growth retardation, male hypogonadism, skin changes, mental lethargy, hepatosenomegaly, iron deficiency anaemia and geophagia (WHO/UNICEF, 2002).

Apart from low zinc levels  due to rapid growth,  pregnancy  and lactation  cause  zinc deficiency if these increased needs are not met.

At the national level 20% of children under 5 are zinc deficient. Zinc deficiency  was highest in pregnant women (43.8%).  More than one-quarter (28.1%) of the mothers were zinc deficient.

What these data show is that in spite of all efforts aimed at improving the  nutritional status  of children  and women,  prevalence  rates of nutritional  deficiencies  are on the increase  and  remain  unacceptably  high.  The  consequences  of  malnutrition  include childhood morbidity and mortality, poor physical and mental development, poor school performance  and reduced  adult size  with reduced  capacity  for physical  work (WHO,

1995).

If no action is taken, these conditions would spell enormous consequences for national productivity, economic growth and human development (IITA, 2004).

Anambra state shares a common border with Imo state where the survey work was done. This  recent  Nigeria  food  consumption  and  nutrition  survey  (IITA,  2004)  was  not conducted   in  Anambra   state.   There   is  limited   documented   evidence   concerning micronutrient status of the members of the communities in Anambra. The result of the survey in the neighbouring/adjoining states, Imo and Akwa Ibom, showed some pockets of micronutrient deficiencies.   These deficiencies are not restricted to only these states. Anambra community has almost common culture and food habits with these states where the study was conducted.

Besides,  clinical  signs  observed  during  the  community  Health,  Profile,  Participatory learning and action seminars/health observational tour (NPHCDA, 2005) in some wards of Aguata LGA showed that there are clinical signs of malnutrition, especially those of micronutrients.    This  development  is  surprising  because  the  people  of  Aguata  LGA particularly cherish vegetables, which are the richest plant sources of micronutrients in

almost all dishes for eye appeal most importantly and to a lesser extent for their nutrient concentrations.

Micronutrient deficiencies are global issues. They require fundamental approach such as assessment  of people’s  traditional  meals.  This will  ascertain  the nutrient  contents  of various foods to plan adequate intervention strategies to virtually eliminate malnutrition. Identification of the commonly, traditionally and culturally accepted consumed foods to determine their nutrient levels is imperative. It is also necessary to determine the factors that  affect  consumption   such  as  poor  nutrition   education,   seasonal  variation  and processing and preparation methods.

The identification  of some lesser-known  vegetables  (“Okpa-okuko”,  “ugu oyibo”  and sweet potato leaves) readily available and rich in micronutrients is considered important for  dietary  diversification   and  to  ensure  that  they  are  not  extinct.   “Ugbogulu”, “eliamionu”   and  “arira”  leaves  are  among  the  other  more   commonly  consumed vegetables.

Any domestic food processing methods to preserve and retain both macro and  micro- nutrients of these vegetables would go a long way to reduce micronutrient deficiencies and be valuable in Igbo-Ukwu and Nigeria in general.  Sun and shade-drying are among the domestic food processing methods shown to preserve and retain nutrients in seasonal green vegetables (Udofia, 2005; Wachap, 2005).  The thrust of this study is to select both known  and  lesser-known  seasonal  green  leafy  vegetables,  sun  and  shade-dry  and pulverize them, prepare dishes and determine their nutrient content as consumed.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Micronutrient  malnutrition  is  implicated  in  more  than  half  of  all  childhood  deaths worldwide  –  a  proportion  unmatched  by any  infectious  disease  (Smith  and  Haddad,

2003).   Improving  micronutrient  status  can  make  enormous  difference  on the  health consequence  of  these  nutrients.    The  question  then  is,  how  much  nutrients  do  our

traditional  dishes contain?   World Health Organization  (2002) observed that diet  and nutrient are important in the promotion and maintenance of good health throughout the entire course of life.

In Anambra state, there are limited studies to determine the prevalence of micronutrient deficiency among the communities. These are “hidden hunger” and have more to do with the  quality  of  diet  rather  than  the  quantity  of  food  produced  and  consumed.    The observational   tour  of  community   health  profile   participatory   learning  and  action (NPHCDA, 2005) depicts that pockets of  micronutrient  deficiency exist. This position supports the result of Nutritional Status of Children in Anambra State – A Comprehensive Treatise (Nnanyelugo, 1980) reported that vitamin A intake of children in the state was

70% of the FAO requirements.  Even though some progress had been made nationally to combat micronutrient deficiency, urgent action is needed to accelerate the efforts to bring micronutrient  malnutrition  under  control.  One  of  these  efforts  will  be  to  assess  the nutrient content of the foods that are often consumed. This is because the quantity of each nutrient in a diet is important and the quantity available for cellular utilization is equally important

Fruits and vegetables are the richest sources of micronutrients. Vegetables are not usually consumed alone, they are often served as accompaniment to main dishes such as in soup meals, casseroles and sauces. They are served with basic staples such as  maize meal, cassava foofoo, gari and yam. They are equally served in combination as some of the vegetable provide bounding effect to complement the other vegetables.

Yam (Dioscora spp.) is one of the basic and common staples cherished in Aguata LGA by all members of families.  Yam could be used as breakfast, lunch and supper dishes. It is prepared traditionally in combination with vegetables or with just plain palm oil and spices when vegetables are not available.   Yam is a well appreciated staple in the local

government to the extent that culturally new yam festivals are celebrated to usher in new yam  harvest  season.    Combination  of  yam  and  vegetables  provides  adequate  diet. However, at times, it is consumed with only palm oil and spices as boiled or roasted yam or plain yam pottage due to scarcity of vegetables.  The  consumption  of yam without vegetables is of low nutritional quality.

Varieties  of  green  leafy  vegetables  cultivated  or  wildly  grown  and  consumed  are available especially during the rainy season. Some of these green vegetables  are  more common, popular and regularly consumed more than others which are lesser known but have similar or even more nutrient value. These vegetables are  lesser known and are rarely consumed despite their nutrient content and their ability to withstand draught better than most of the popular known and commonly consumed green vegetables. These lesser known vegetables are going extinct and therefore needed to be studied to ascertain the nutrient content as base for the promotion of its production and continued utilisation.

It is pertinent to apply sun and shade-drying to preserve and retain the nutrient content of these  lesser-know  vegetables  as  well  as  the  commonly  used  vegetables  to  ensure availability of vegetable at affordable  cost year round and in all season

Various yam dishes based on large quantities of these vegetables would be prepared. The nutrient content and their availability would be determined in adult rats.

1.3 Justification

Plant foods are the major sources of nutrients in Igbo-Ukwu, Aguata LGA. However, the availability  of the nutrients, especially in fruits and vegetables  vary with  seasons and locations.  Fruits and vegetables are abundant during rainy season and are scarce in dry season. This seasonal variation affects consumption  and levels of  micronutrient  of the consumers.

There are lesser-known edible vegetables that are readily available during dry season in Igbo-Ukwu.  Uvaria  chamae  “Okpa-okuko”,  Ipomoea  batata  –  sweet  potato  leaves “Abuba ji nwanue” and Jatropha aconitifolia “ugu oyibo” leaves are among these lesser- known  vegetables;  but  they  are    rarely    consumed  .There  are  some  popular  green vegetables that  are commonly consumed mainly in yam dishes such as Curcubita pepo broad  pumpkin  leaves  “ugbogulu”,  Corchorus  trieus  “Arira”  and  Celosia  argentea “Eliamionu” but are not as draught resistant as the lesser known green vegetables.  It is imperative  to study the effect of domestic food  processing  techniques on the nutrient content   of  some   popular   and  commonly   consumed   vegetables   (Curcubita   pepo, Corchorus  trieus  and  Celosia  argentea  leaves)  as  well  as  lesser-known  vegetables (Uvaria chamae, Ipomoea batata leaves and Jatropha aconitifolia leaves) to preserve and make them much more available all year at affordable prices.  There is need to determine the food potentials of these vegetables, especially those of the lesser-known vegetables to encourage communities to consume them to meet their nutrient requirements.  The result of this study will  encourage  farmers to diversify food use of these vegetables  and to produce more for sale to generate income for other family needs.

1.4 Objectives of the study

1.4.1  General objective

The general objective of this study is to identify and determine the nutrient composition of both popularly   known and lesser-known vegetables that   Igbo-Ukwu community in Aguata L ocal Government  Area  use to prepare various yam dishes and determine their nutrient composition.

1.4.2  Specific objectives

The specific objectives were:

1.        to identify  common  popular  yam  (Dioscorea  rotundata)  dishes  prepared  with vegetables as consumed in Igbo-Ukwu-

2.        to identify common and lesser-known vegetables used in preparing various yam dishes consumed in Igbo-Ukwu.

3.        sun and shade-dry and pulverize these vegetables and determine their nutrient and anti-nutrient composition.

4.        compare the effects of processing on the nutrient composition of these vegetables and yam dishes.

5.        prepare eight (8) yam dishes using fresh and  processed (sun and shade-dried and pulverized) vegetables as consumed in Igbo-Ukwu community.

6   determine their nutrient content of these dishes, micronutrient in particular.

7.        determine  the  organoleptic   attributes  of  the  dishes  among   non-Igbo-Ukwu indigenes  in UNN for diversification of use of the dishes.

1. 5   Significance of the study

There is little or no information on the nutrient profile of some dishes consumed in Igbo- Ukwu. Nutrient composition of some known vegetables varies due to soil and location. The  result  of this  study  will  provide  a database  on foods  and their  nutrient  content consumed in Igbo-Ukwu.

The  data  generated  would  assist  food  scientists  and  nutritionists  to  compile  food composition table for use in Nigeria and assess nutrient composition of different Nigeria dishes.

The  result  will  add to the body of information  for long term  planning  and  periodic evaluation of health, educational, economical and agricultural services and  action. The

information would be a useful contribution to the compilation of local food standards and identification of areas of priority in food production and consumption.

It would encourage farmers to produce and process more yam and vegetables to ensure availability, affordability and surplus for sale to generate income for health care and other non-nutrition needs.

The information  from  the study  would  be useful  in solving  micronutrient  deficiency problems among communities, hospitals, clinics and schools.   These institutions would use the result to advise mothers on the appropriate meal  selection  and management to offset seasonal scarcity, traditional processing techniques and preparation methods.  They will be useful for nutrition intervention  programmes, adequate nutrition education and dietary diversification. Nutrition educators and promoters and home economics extension workers would use the information to encourage and promote new micronutrient-rich dishes among the rural and urban  populace.    It  is  hoped  that  such  programmes  would  drastically  reduce  both morbidity and mortality among the communities and improve their nutritional status.



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IDENTIFICATION, CONSUMPTION PATTERN AND NUTRIENT COMPOSITION OF PROCESSED GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES AND THEIR YAM DISHES AS CONSUMED IN IGBO- UKWU IN ANAMBRA STATE NIGERIA

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