Nutrient composition and contribution of plantain (Musa paradisiacea) products to dietary diversity of Nigerian consumers

Abstract

Some plantain ( Musa paradisiacea ) products, which serve as dietary staple in Nigeria were studied for their nutrient composition and contribution to dietary diversification of consumers. Unripe plantain was purchased from Oje market in Ibadan, Nigeria. Proximate, mineral and vitamin composition of raw, sundried, fermented, boiled and roasted samples were determined using standard methods of analyses of AOAC, atomic absorption spectrophotometric and spectrophotometric methods respectively. The results of analyses revealed that unripe plantain contained 59.4 g moisture, 7.7 g crude protein, 1.5 g ash, 1.4 g crude fibre, 24.4 g carbohydrates, 80 mg sodium, 120 mg potassium, 66.6 mg calcium, 275 mg magnesium, 195 mg phosphorus, 2.53 mg iron, 3.7 mg zinc, and yielded 128.6 kcal of energy/100 g sample. Sun drying, fermentation, boiling and roasting significantly improved the crude lipid, ash, crude fibre, carbohydrate, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus contents of the products (p < 0.05). The low sodium content of the products makes them suitable for the hypertensive, and the low carbohydrate content coupled with relatively high energy make them suitable for consumption by the diabetics. 100 g of plantain products can contribute between 6.3 to 15.3% energy, 5.9 to 30.2% protein, 7.8 to 16% calcium, 9.2 to 23.3% iron, and 28.5 to 33.7% zinc to percent Recommended Dietary Allowances (%RDAs) of consumers. Key words : Nutrient composition, nutrient contribution, plantain, dietary diversity.