Nutritional analysis of african yam bean and bambara nut pudding

Abstract

This study was to analyze and compare the nutritional contents of African yam bean pudding and Bambara nut pudding. Many important crop plants native to Africa with the potential to alleviate and reduce food insecurity in the continent are severally neglected, unimproved and under-utilized. It is of great importance to examine the nutrient, toxic substance, and anti-physiological substance composition of locally available foods in a community or country. The result of the proximate analysis showed that BNP had higher moisture content, crude fat, and protein compared to AYBP, and its statistically not significant P ≥ 0.05, BNP showed a significantly higher carbohydrate compared to AYBP P≤ 0.05. The ash and fiber content of AYBP was shown to be statistically higher than that of BNP with P≤ 0.05. The result of the vitamin analysis showed that AYBP had significantly higher vitamin C compared with BNP, and vitamin A though not significant. The vitamin E content of both puddings was shown to be equal. The outcome of the analysis showed that AYBP is rich in fiber and low in carbohydrates as such could be a meal for diabetic patients. The vitamins contained in AYBP make it a requirement for school children and could be a source of a cheap source of vitamins to the rural and low-income earners in our society. AYBP has longer shelf life compared with the BNP because of its low moisture content.