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EVALUATION OF NUTRIENT CONTENT IN RED KIDNEY BEANS, AMARANTH LEAVES, SWEET POTATO ROOTS AND CARROTS CULTIVATED IN RWANDA
Kambabazi, MR; Okoth, MW; Ngala, S; Njue, L & Vasanthakaalam, H
Abstract
No data exist on the nutrient composition of some important Rwandan staples. The aim
of this study was to evaluate the nutrient content of red kidney beans, sweet potato
roots, amaranth leaves and carrot roots. About 6 kg of each raw material were cleaned
and conditioned prior to mechanical drying, ground and sieved [60-mesh] into flour and
then subjected to quantitative analysis for proximate content, energy, calcium (Ca), iron
(Fe), zinc (Zn), vitamin A and vitamin C. Proximate composition determination was
done using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), carbohydrates were determined by
difference, energy was calculated, mineral analysis was done by Atomic Absorption
Spectroscopy (AAS) and vitamin analysis was performed by High Performance Liquid
Chromatography (HPLC) methods. The results showed that red kidney beans, sweet
potato roots, amaranth leaves and carrots contain 21.48, 6.66, 29.46 and 13.8% of
protein; 2.58, 1.68, 7.89 and 2.08% of fat; 60.86, 79.13, 19.29 and 57.38% of
carbohydrate; 2.33, 2.68, 8.98 and 9.63% of fiber; 8.82, 8.74, 10.08 and 8.88% of
moisture content; 3.94, 1.11, 24.30 and 5.16% of ash; 357.2, 363.7, 284.0, 322.9
kcal/100 g of energy; and 146.4, 182.7, 26,290 and 1,247 mg/kg of calcium,
respectively. Red kidney beans, amaranth leaves and carrots contained 8.54, 30.48, and
15.55 mg/kg of zinc; and 21.36, 219.1 and 8.81 mg/kg of iron, respectively. Zinc and
iron were, however, not detected in sweet potato samples analysed. Red kidney beans,
sweet potato roots, amaranth leaves and carrot contained 768.0, 10,880, 399.4, and
6,413 IU/100 g of vitamin A; and 2.67, 30.99, 330.3 and 6.76 mg/100g of vitamin C,
respectively. In conclusion, the staples analysed contained appreciable amounts of
nutrients and could be used to overcome malnutrition and allow dietary diversity. It
could be recommended to prepare a Rwandan food composition database in order to
improve awareness on local grown crops’ quality.
Keywords
Amaranth leaves; Carrots; Nutrients; Red kidney beans; Sweet potato roots
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