Dietary Fibre and Micronutrient Potential of Underutilized Green Leafy Vegetable Sprinkles on Selected Foods

Considering the rural poor in developing countries like Nigeria, diets that are deficient in dietary fibre and micronutrients are common. Food  diversification or dietary modifications such as increased consumption of vegetables may solve the problem. This study assessed the dietary fibre and micronutrient levels of selected starchy foods (jollof rice and yam porridge) using three underutilized green leafy vegetables, namely, Ebolo (Crassocephalum crepidiodes), Odu (Solanum nigrum L), and Yanrin (Launaea teracifolia L) as sprinkles. Fresh samples of Crassocephalum crepidioides, Solanum nigrum L, and Launaea teracifolia were purchased from Ota market. The leafy parts of the vegetables were washed, cut, oven-dried at 90°C for 6 h and pulverized. Jollof rice and porridge were cooked and 2g each of dried ebolo, odu and yanrin were sprinkled on 100g of each food and stirred thoroughly. Total dietary fibre, as well as iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn) content of the resultant diets, were determined using standard methods. The highest total dietary fibre of 8.45% was obtained in jollof rice sprinkled with Yanrin. Zn (31.75mg/kg) was highest in jollof rice sprinkled with Yanrin, and Fe (87.75mg/kg) in porridge sprinkled with Ebolo. The underutilized vegetables added more nutritional values to jollof rice and yam porridge as Ebolo, Yanrin and Odu were sprinkled on them. Keywords: Underutilized vegetables, dietary fibre, micronutrient, zinc, iro