Micronutrients composition of selected sun-dried and cooked indigenous leafy vegetables in Dodoma, Tanzania.

A Dissertation 2019Indigenous leafy vegetables are important in human diet as they supply a number of important nutrients for human health. A cross-sectional study was carried out at Chamwino District (Mzula and Chinoje villages), Dodoma to assess the effect of drying and cooking on nutrients composition of selected indigenous leafy vegetables. A total of 120 randomly selected participants were interviewed using pretested structured questionnaires with the main focus on vegetable production, processing and storage practices. For laboratory analysis, three commonly consumed varieties of indigenous leafy vegetables namely ''Amaranthus'' (Amaranthus hybridus), ''Jute mallow'' (Corchorus olitorius L.) and ''Spider flower'' (Cleome gynadra L.) were selected from each village and divided into three groups; uncooked (fresh) to serve as control samples, the dried-cooked samples and fresh-cooked samples. The samples were analysed for β-carotene by using Ultra Violet Visible Spectrophotometer; Vitamin C by titration method and minerals (iron, calcium and zinc) by Atomic flame emission Spectrophotometer. The results showed that the concentration of β-carotene in indigenous leafy vegetables ranges from 328 - 179 μg/ g, vitamin C (89 - 23 mg/100 g), iron (46 - 27 g/100 g), calcium (62 - 31 g/100 g) and zinc (45 - 13 g/100 g). Sun- drying and cooking had significant (p