Comparative Analysis of Phytochemical and Proximate Contents of Three Orphan Legume Species
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Background and Objective: Orphan legume species can provide cheap and quality nutrients, serve as sources of herbal medicine, forage
crop, biomass feedstock and green manure but largely unexploited. The present study investigated phytochemical and proximate
contents of three orphan legumes comprising three accessions of African Yam Bean (AYB), four of Kersting’s Groundnut (KG) and six of
Winged Beans (WB). Materials and Methods: The seeds were collected from the Genebank of the International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture via the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA). The samples were oven-dried, grounded into a fine powder and
analyzed for their biochemical profiles using standard procedures. Results: Carbohydrate, betacyanin, quinone and terpenes were found
in the samples, while saponins were found only in AYB and KG accessions. Alkaloids and coumarin were only detected in samples of WB
and KG. The crude protein was quite high among all the samples ranged from 18.4% in TSs-33 of AYB-52.7% in TPt-126 of WB with a mean
of 30.16±3.01. Conclusion: The study indicates that the species and the accessions are rich in proteins and essential proximate contents
that can be explored as sources of food and feeds for both humans and animals.
Keywords
QH Natural history, QH301 Biology