The nutritive values of some fruits and seeds usually eaten raw in Nigeria have been studied. These include avocado pear (
Persea amaricana
), pawpaw (
Garcine papaya
), Banana (
Musa sapietum
), Coconut (
Cosos nucifera
), Bitter Kola (
Garcine kola
), Black tamarind (
Dalilium guineensis
), Mango (
Mangifera indica
) and Garsen egg (
Solanum melongena
). The fruits showed appreciable amounts of moisture; pawpaw (80 .24) ± 4 .20%), garden egg (73 .46 ± 3 .15%), banana (68 .84 ± 3 14%) and avocado pear (66 .36 ± 3.20) in decreasing content. Only avocado and coconut had high fat content with values of 30.27 ± 1.20% and 18.05 ± 2.50% respectively on a dry weight basis. The protein content of all the fruits and seeds were not high; the highest value of 3.00 ± 0.21% was obtained for coconut. Appreciable amounts of calcium and vitamins C (13.80 ± 210% and 7.19 ± 0 .14 %) respectively have been obtained from fruit some of the seeds. The carbohydrate content (expressed as glucose) of the fruits and seeds also gave values ranging from 2.97 ± 0.02% to 4.00 ± 0.10%. the results show that thee fruits and seeds eaten raw are good sources of essential nutrients particularly Vitamin C which is destroyed by high temperature during preparation.
@JASEM
