ISSN: 1579-4377

PROXIMATE, MINERAL, ANTI-NUTRIENTS, PHYTO-CHEMICAL SCREENING AND AMINO ACID COMPOSITIONS OF THE LEAVES OF PTEROCARPUS MILDBRAEDI HARMS
a

Akinyeye R.O.1, Oluwadunsin A.a, Omoyeni A.a Department of Chemistry, University of Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria 1 richardakinyeye@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Leaves of P. mildbraedii Harms (Osun Ure) was anaysed for proximate constituents and mineral compositions. It contained 20.63 0.03% ash, 13.33 0.01% moisture, 26.45 0.03% crude protein, 8.66 0.01% fat, 12.33 0.02% crude fibre and 18.61 0.44% carbohydrate. Minerals like Ca, Na, Mg, Zn, K and P are predominantly abundant while Fe and Mn are present in less appreciable amount. The phytochemical screening of the leave sample for anti-nutrients indicates the presence of 0.47 0.47% tannic acid, 0.23 0.00% polyphenol, 5.49 0.02% saponin, 4.65 0.02% alkaloids, 3.66 0.01% flavonoids, 3.33 0.09mg/g oxalate, 6.38 0.58mg/g phytin phosphorus and 22.65 2.06 mg/g phytic acid. These bioactive compounds were identified to be accountable for the therapeutic properties of P. mildbraedii. The total amino acid content (TAA) of the sample was calculated to be 674.4mg/g crude protein. Glutamic acid (103.8mg/g crude protein) was the most abundant amino acid while cystine (8.00mg/g crude protein) was the least. Lysine (81.00mg/g crude protein) was the most abundant essential amino acid (EAA). The iso-electric point for the sample was calculated to be 3.60. The predicted protein efficiency ratio (P-PER) was estimated to be 2.92. KEYWORDS Pterocarpus mildbraedii Harms (Osun Ure), Proximate analysis, Minerals, Anti-nutrients, Phytochemical screening, Amino acids.

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INTRODUCTION The genus Pterocarpus which is tropically and sub-tropically distributed belongs to the family fabaceae (Papilionaceae). There are about 60 species of the genus. About 20 of these species are found in Africa notably in Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea, and some in Asian countries. Most of them are commercial timbers. P. santanaloids D.C, P. soyauxii Taub and P. osun Craib are all primarily used for timber with leaves that are used as vegetable as well. The leaves of P. mildbraedii are used for soup making in Nigeria. In Ghana, the trees have been extensively utilized in cocoa plantations to provide shade (Bosch, 2004). P. mildbraedii is widely exploited for its timber e.g. in Tanzania and the wood which is whitish are widely used for carving cutlass handles, tie-rod and mortar making. The leaves which are stiff are green in colour. Some tribes in Eastern and Southern Nigeria use the leave extracts from P. mildbraedii in the treatment of headaches, pains, fever, convulsions, respiratory disorders and as antimicrobial agents as similarly reported for Sansevieria trifasciata (Ogukwe et al., 2004; Agoha et al., 1976). Despite the extensive use of this plant both in wood constructions and in herbal medicine, there is at present scanty information or reports on the nutrients, anti-nutrients, phytochemistry and the amino acid composition of the plant. Therefore the present research is focused on establishing the proximate, mineral compositions and the amino acid profile of raw dried leaves of the leguminous plant. It further investigated the crude extracts of the leaves for phytochemical compounds responsible for the therapeutic potency of the leave. The anti-nutrients of the extract were as well determined. MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials The fresh leaves of P. mildbraedii Harms were collected from a local market in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. The leaves were plucked separately from the stalks and rinsed with a clean tap water in the laboratory. The leaves were later air dried at room temperature for three weeks. It was later chipped and grounded into a coarse powder with an electric blender and kept in air tight sample containers and stored in the refrigerator (4C) pending laboratory analysis. Methods The grounded leaves of P. mildbraedii was analysed for proximate constituents; moisture, total ash, crude fat and crude fibre using the methods of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 1995). While nitrogen was determined by micro-Kjeldahl method as described by Pearson (1976) and the percentage nitrogen was converted to crude protein by multiplying the value with 6.25. Total soluble carbohydrate and organic matter were determined by the difference of the sum of all the proximate composition from 100%. The calorific values were obtained by multiplying the carbohydrate, protein and crude fat by the Atwater factors of 17, 17 and 37 respectively (Kilgour, 1987). The crude fat was converted into fatty acid by multiplying with conversion factor of 0.80 (Greenfield and Southgate, 2003). The minerals were analysed from solutions obtained by first dry-ashing the powdered sample at 550oC for 5 hrs and dissolving the ash in 10% HNO3, warming, filtering and transferring to 100ml standard flask using distilled deionised water to make it up. Mineral analysis for the Na and K contents of the resulting solution was determined by Flame photometry (Jenway Ltd, Dunmow, Essex, UK) and Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Co and Cd were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (Buck Scientific East Norwalk, CT, USA). The phosphorus was determined colorimetrically by using the phosphovanado molybdate method described by AOAC, 1995.
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The phytohemical screening and the anti-nutrients of the crude extracts of the leaves of P. mildbraedii which revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins and flavonoids for the phytochemical screening and alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, tannic acid, polyphenol, phytin phosphorus and phytic acid for the antinutrients were conducted using the methods described by Antherden (1969), Harbone (1993), and Sofowora (1983). Aqueous extract of the sample was prepared by boiling about 5g of the dried sample with about 100ml of distilled water for about 1 hour and filtered before taking for analysis. The amino acids determination was by the method of AOAC, 1995. 2.0g sample was defatted using chloroform/methanol mixture. 30 35mg defatted sample was hydrolysed at 105 5oC for 22hr (FAO/WHO, 1991); hydrolyzed sample (about 5 microlitre) was analyzed for amino acids using the ion-exchange chromatographic (IEC) method (FAO/WHO, 1991) by loading into the Technicon Sequential Multi sample (TSM) amino acid analyzer (Technicon Instrument Corporation, New York). All data generated were analyzed statistically (Oloyo, 2001), Calculated for were the mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation percent. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Proximate The results of the proximate analysis of the leave of Pterocarpus mildbraedii is shown in Table 1. The moisture content is 13.33 0.01% which is higher than those reported for gourd seed (3.46%) (Ogungbenle, 2006; Olaofe et al., 1994; Alsmeyer, et al. 2006) and calabash seed (5.27%) (Ekuagbere, 2007). It is however comparable with that reported for unripe pulp of Carica papaya (10.65%) by Oloyede, 2005. The moisture content of oil seeds is generally low and that is why they would probably not be susceptible to microbial attack (Olaofe et al., 1994; Ogungbenle, 2006). In like manner, the dried leaves of P. mildbraedii would not be susceptible to microbial attack during reasonable period of storage. The ash content value of 20.63 0.03% is high compared to some legumes such as cowpeas, lima beans, bambara groundnut (Aremu et al., 2005, Oyenuga et al. 1968); Kerstings groundnut (3.2%) and Bambara groundnut (4.30%) as reported by Olaofe et al., 1994. This suggests that the sample could be a better source of essential valuable and useful minerals needed for good body development.
TABLE 1: Mean proximate composition (%) of Pterocarpus mildbraedii Harms Proximate Analysis % Total Ash % Moisture content % Crude protein % Crude Fat % Crude Fibre % Carbohydrate % Dry matter % Fatty acid % Organic matter Available Energy (KJ/100g)
a b b

Mean compositiona 20.60.0 13.30.0 26.50.4 8.660.01 12.30.0 18.60.4 86.70.0 6.90.0 66.10.0 1086

Values are mean standard deviation of duplicate determinations Calculated metabolisable energy (KJ/100g sample) = (%Protein x 17 + %Fat x 37 + %Carbohydrate x 17) 1850

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The crude protein content was 26.45 0.43% for the sample which is relatively high compared to that reported for a vegetable like Amaranthus cruentus being 4.0 6.0% (Apata & Ologhodo, 1994). However, the concentration is relatively lower compared to the 35.9% reported by Ekuagbere (2007) for calabash seed, 43.1% for luffa cylindrical kernel (Olaofe et al., 2008) and the 23.7 30.8% for gourd seed (Olaofe et al., 1994). The sample is a good source of protein especially in an area where the majority depends largely on starchy foods. Availability of crude protein content of 26.45 0.43% for human nutrition from plant source, P. mildbraedii is cheaper to access than from other animal based protein sources e.g. eggs, meat, fish etc. The fat content of 8.66 0.01% in the dried leaves of P. mildbraedii is very low compared to those of calabash seed (43%) (Ekuagbere, 2007) and groundnut (43%) (Apata & Ologhobo, 1994). The leaves of P. mildbraedii could still be grouped under oil rich plant food and therefore could be used as source of oil for industrial and domestic purposes. P. mildbraedii has 12.33 0.02% crude fibre which is higher compared to the 2.8% in gourd seed (Ogungbenle, 2006), 4.28% soybean (Akintayo et al. 2002) and 2.53% calabash seed (Ekuagbere, 2007). It suggests that P. mildbraedii leaves would provide high dietary fibre in the diet. The carbohydrate content of the sample is 18.61 0.44% which is higher compared to 6.93% in pumpkin (Olaofe et al., 1994) and it is lower compared to the 31.5% in groundnut flour (Oyenuga, 1968). The leave of P. mildbraedii offers to be a good source of energy. The metabolizable energy value of 1086.44 KJ/100g calculated for the sample showed that P. mildbraedii is a concentrated source of energy within the recommended dietary allowance for children (Aremu et al., 2005). Mineral Composition Generally, minerals from plant sources are less bio-available than those from animal sources (ODell, 1969). As shown in Table 2, P. mildbraedii contained Ca, Zn, Na, P and K contents (mg/100g) in a relatively high amount and the leaf is particularly rich in P (506.87mg/100g) and Ca (128.87mg/100g). Elements like Fe and Mn are very low with the values of 12.41mg/100g and 2.86mg/100g respectively while heavy metals like Cu, Cr, and Cd were not detected in the leaves. The sample is a very good source of Ca and P which are important for strong bones and teeth formation. However, the Ca/P ratio was found to be 0.25 which is very poor and the Na/K is found to be 2.20 which are equally bad for their effective health utilization. In animals, a Ca/P ratio above 2.0 helps to increase the absorption of Ca in the small intestine. Food is considered good if the ratio Ca/P is > 1 and poor if < 0.5 (Nieman et al., 1992; Adeyeye & Aye., 2005). Na is an intercellular and K is an intracellular cation they both control the electrical potential of the nerves and osmotic pressure of the body (Adeyeye and Aye 2005). The recommended Na/K ratio is 0.6 and for P. mildbraedii, it is 2.20 which is grossly at variance for healthy diet, and therefore will promote manifestation of high blood pressure.
TABLE 2: Mineral composition (mg/100g) of Pterocarpus mildbraedii Harms Minerals Composition (mg/100g) Na 202.37 K 91.64 Ca 128.87 Mg 84.00 Zn 122.18 Fe 12.41 Cu nd Mn 2.86 Cr nd Cd nd P 506.87 nd = Not-detected 1851

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Phytochemical Screening The phytochemical screening conducted on crude extracts of the leaves of P. mildbraedii Harm revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins and flavonoids while steroids, phlobatannins and cardic glycosides were absent as shown in Table 3. These results followed the same trend with Sanseviera trifasciata reported by (Ogukwe et al., 2004). It was concluded that the bioactive compounds identified accounts for the therapeutic properties of the leaves of S. trifasciata (Ogukwe et al., 2004). Extracts from the leaves have been reported to have various ethno-medical applications (Agoha et al., 1976). The Igbo ethnic group of Eastern Nigeria use the leaf extracts of S. trifasciata in the treatment of convulsions, feverish headaches, headaches, pains, respiratory disorders and also used as an antibacterial agent (Agoha et al., 1976). These trends suggest that P. mildbraedii can as well perform the same functions. Several authors have reported on the analgesic properties of alkaloids (Antherdern, 1969; Harbone, 1993), as well as the anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties of tannins (Duguid et al., 1989). The diuretic, antibacterial and antifungal properties of flavonoids containing plants have also been reported (Sofowora, 1982). It is being suggested that the phytochemical compounds obtained from the crude extracts could make P. mildbraedii a potential source of useful drug.
TABLE 3: Phychemical Screening of Pterocarpus mildbraedii Harms Pytonchemical Result Tannins + Alkaloids + Saponins + Steroids Phlobatanin Flavonoids + NB: where + represents present and - represents absent.

Anti-Nutrients Analysis Table 4 presents the results of the anti-nutrients analysis performed on the crude extracts of P. mildbraedii leaves. Tannic acid (0.47%) and polyphenol (0.23%) are present in a low amount such that they do not pose a health danger to the consumers, while phytic acid (22.65mg/g), alkaloids (4.65mg/g), flavonoids (3.66%), oxalate (3.33mg/g) and phytin phosphorus (3.68%) are present in an appreciable amount. The values reported for oxalate, phytic acid and tannins were higher than that reported by Asaolu and Omotayo (2007) (0.89, 0.22 and 0.39mg/100g respectively. High concentration of anti-nutrients such as phytates and oxalates has been known to exert substantial effect on the mineral bioavailability in foods. This antinutrients form complexes with minerals like Ca, Zn and Mg thereby preventing their efficient absorption by the body systems (Aletor, 1993). However some of these antinutrients can be reduced by proper processing.
TABLE 4: Mean Anti-Nutrient Values (%) of Pterocarpus mildbraedii Harms Anti-Nutrients Mean comp. Tannic acid (%) 0.470.00 Polyphenol (%) 0.230.00 Saponin (%) 5.490.02 Alkaloid (%) 4.650.02 Flavonoids 3.660.01 Oxalate (mg/g) 3.330.09 Phytin phosphorus (mg/g) 6.380.58 Phytic acid (mg/g) 22.652.06

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Amino Acid Concentration The amino acid composition of the leaf of P. mildbraedii Harm is presented in Table 5.1 in form of concentration in milligram per gram crude protein (mg/gcp) for each amino acid. Other parameters calculated for the amino acid profile are presented in Table 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5. From Table 5.1, glutamic acid (glu) had the highest value of 103.8 mg/gcp and leucine (leu) occupied the second position with the value of 81.00 mg/gcp while cystine (cys) had the least value of 8.00 mg/gcp. The glu value of the sample followed the same trend reported for both fermented and unfermented cocoa nibs (Adeyeye et al., 2010), Cola acuminate (Adeyeye et al., 2007) and oil seeds (Olaofe et al., 1994). The glutamic acid of P. mildbraedii is higher than Limicolaria sp. (10.1 mg/gcp) but it is lower compared to Archachatina marginata (144.0 mg/gcp). From Table 5.2, the total amino acids (TAA) were 674.4mg/gcp. This value was lower to those reported in Limicolaria (716.0mg/gcp) (Adeyeye et al., 2004) and fermented cocoa nibs (708mg/gcp) (Adeyeye et al., 2010) but higher than those reported in B. sapida (481.33mg/gcp) (Adeyeye et al., 2003).
Table 5:1 Amino acid concentration (mg/g Crude Protein) Amino Acids Concentration (mg/gcp) Lysine* 32.40 Histidine* 19.20 Arginine* 42.20 Aspartic acid 70.40 Threonine* 28.00 Serine 28.20 Glutamic acid 103.80 Proline 28.50 Glycine 37.00 Alanine 42.50 Cystine 8.00 Valine* 42.20 Methionine* 8.30 Isoleucine* 35.50 Leucine* 81.00 Tyrosine 26.90 Phenylalanine* 40.30 Note: * represents Essential amino acids

The total non-essential amino acids (TNEAA) in Table 5.2 was 345.30mg/gcp which is closer to the values of 328mg/gcp and A. occidentale (Adeyeye et al., 2007) and 341 mg/gcp in fermented cocoa nibs (Adeyeye et al., 2010). The TNEAA was 51.20% meaning that it formed the bulk of the amino acids. The total essential amino acid (TEAA) with histidine was 329.10mg/gcp which was lower compared to melon oil seeds (534.4 mg/gcp) (Olaofe et al., 1994) but was higher compared to 226.86 mg/gcp in B. sapida (Adeyeye et al., 2003). The TEAA without histidine was 309.8mg/gcp. The result was lower compared to Limicolaria sp (393.0mg/gcp) and higher than 186.26mg/gcp in B. sapida (Adeyeye et al., 2003). The % TNEAA was 51.20 while the % TEAA is 48.80 (with histidine) and 45.94 (without histidine). This shows that the protein in P. mildbraedii is higher in quality compared to those in soyabean (Kuri et al., 1991), cowpea (Nwokolo, 1987) and pigeon. Tryptophan was not analyzed for in the sample.

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TABLE 5.2 Summary of the calculated essential, non-essential, acidic, basic, neutral, total sulphur and aromatic amino acids (mg/g crude protein) and iso-electric point of P. mildbraedii Harms Amino Acid (mg/gcp) Total amino acid (TAA) 674.40 Percent total amino acid (%TAA) 100.00 Total non-essential amino acid (TNEAA) 345.30 Percent total non-essential amino acid (%TNAA) 51.20 Total essential amino acids (TEAA) 329.10 Percent total essential amino acids (%TEAA) 48.80 Total essential amino acid (TEAA) with histidine 329.10 Percent total essential amino acid (%TEAA) with histidine 48.80 Total essential amino acid (TEAA) without histidine 309.80 Percent total essential amino acid (%TEAA) without histidine 45.94 Total neutral amino acid (TNAA) 406.40 Percent total neutral amino acid (%TNAA) 60.26 Total acidic amino acid (TAAA) 174.20 Percent total acidic amino acid (%TAAA) 25.83 Total basic amino acid (TBAA) 93.80 Percent total basic amino acid (%TBAA) 13.91 Total sulphur amino acid (TSAA) 16.30 Percent total sulphur amino acid (TSAA) 49.08 Total aromatic amino acid (TArAA) 67.20 Percent total aromatic amino acid (%TArAA) 9.96 Calculated isoelectric point (PI) 3.60 Calculated predicted protein efficiency ratio (P-PER) 2.92

In Table 5.3, the % cystine in the TSAA of P. mildbraedii was 49.08%. While many animal proteins, viz: rat, chick and pig have been reported to have a proportion of about 50% (FAO/WHO, 1991), various work by Adeyeye and co-authors have shown that some unprocessed vegetable proteins such as fermented and unfermented cocoa nibs have lower proportions of less than 45% cystine in the TSAA while the processed products have higher values of over 70% (Adeyeye, 2010). It is known that cystine can spare part of the requirement for methionine, FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) does not however give any indication of the proportion of total sulphur amino acids that can be met by cystine. It is known that proteins could prevent the precipitation of Zn in the intestinal lumen through the amino acids such as cystine and peptides which facilitate Zn uptake by the mucosal cells (Sanolstrom et al., 1989). P. mildbraedii will effectively be applicable in this type of function based on the high proportion of % cystine in the TSAA in the leave.
TABLE 5.3: Amino acid scoring pattern for the essential amino acid scores of P. Mildbraedii Harms Amino acid Isoleucine Leucine Methionine + Cystine (TSAA) Threonine Valine Phenylalamine + Tyrosine Lysine Total
a

Suggested level of standard scoring pattern (mg/g cp)a 40 70 35 40 50 60 55 350

Current result (mg/g cp) 35.50 81.00 16.30 28.00 42.20 67.20 32.40 302.60

Sample score 0.89 1.16 0.47 0.70 0.84 1.12 0.59 0.86

Source: FAO (1970)

Total neutral amino acids (TNAA) were 406.40mg/g (60.26%) which indicates that the acids made up the bulk of the amino acids. The total acidic amino acids (TAAA) were
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174.20mg/g (25.83%) which was the second most concentrated class while the total basic amino acids (TBAA) was 93.80mg/g (13.91%) which was the least concentrated class. Table 5.3 contains the amino acid scores based on the provisional amino acids for the P. mildbraedii. From this table, the limiting amino acid (LAA) for P. mildbraedii was methionine + cystine (TSAA) with the value of 0.47. This followed the same trend with the LAA values of 0.51 and 0.43 obtained for TSAA in both fermented and unfermented cocoa nibs respectively (Adeyeye et al., 2010). Therefore in order to fulfill the days needs for the EAA in Osun Ure, 100/47 or 2.13 times as Osun Ure would have to be consumed when it is the sale protein in the diet. Table 5.4 contains the amino acid scores based on whole hens egg amino acid profile. methionine with the value of 0.27 was the LAA which followed the same trend with fermented and unfermented cocoa nibs respectively (Adeyeye et al., 2010). The respective corrections would then be 100/27 or 3.7 times the protein of the sample where it serves as the sole protein source. The isoelectric point (IP) for the mixture (Table 5.4) was estimated from the equation by Finar (1975).
n

IP =

i =1

IPi X i 100

Where IPi = the isoelectric point of the ith amino acid in the mixture and Xi = the mole fraction of the ith amino acid in the mixture. The IP calculated for the amino acids in the sample was 3.60 (Table 5.5). The calculated IP value of 3.6 for P. mildbraedii was consistent with the IP value of 3.6 for Luffa cylindrical kernel as reported by Olaofe et al., 2008. This value is essential for predicting the IP needed to promote a fast precipitation of protein isolated from biological samples (Spackman et al., 1958).
TABLE 5.4: Amino acid whole hens egg scoring pattern of P. Mildbraedii Harms P. mildbraedii Whole Hens egg a(g/100gcp) Sample (g/100gcp) score Lysine 3.24 6.2 0.52 Histidine 1.92 2.4 0.80 Arginine 4.22 6.1 0.69 Aspartic acid 7.04 10.7 0.66 Threonine 2.80 5.1 0.55 Serine 2.82 7.9 0.36 Glutamic acid 10.38 12.0 0.87 Proline 2.85 3.8 0.75 Glycine 3.70 3.0 1.23 Alanine 4.25 5.4 0.79 Cystine 0.80 1.8 0.44 Valine 4.22 7.5 0.56 Methionine 0.83 3.2 0.26 Isoleucine 3.55 5.6 0.63 Leucine 8.10 8.3 0.98 Tyrosine 2.69 4.0 0.67 Phenylalanine 4.03 5.1 0.79 Amino acid
a

Source: Paul et al., 1976

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TABLE 5.5: Iso-electric point scoring pattern for the amino acids of P. Mildbraedii Harms Amino acid Lysine Histidine Arginine Aspartic acid Threonine Serine Glutamic acid Proline Glycine Alanine Cystine Valine Methionine Isoleucine Leucine Tyrosine Phenylalanine Total PI 9.5 7.6 3.0 5.7 3.1 5.7 3.1 6.3 6.0 6.1 5.0 6.0 5.7 5.0 6.0 5.6 5.9 P. mildbraedii (g/100gcp) 3.24 1.92 4.22 7.04 2.80 2.82 10.38 2.85 3.70 4.25 0.80 4.22 0.83 3.55 8.10 2.69 4.03 Sample score 30.78 14.59 12.66 40.13 8.68 16.07 32.18 17.96 22.20 25.93 4.00 25.32 4.73 17.75 48.60 15.06 23.78 360.22

The predicted protein efficiency ratio (PPER) for P. mildbraedii was calculated to be 2.92 by using the formula PPER = -0.468 + 0.454 (Leu) 0.105 (Tyr) as reported by Alsmeyer et al., 1974. The experimentally determined P-PER usually ranged from 0.0 for a very poor protein food to a maximum of about 4.0 in a very rich protein source (Miller and Tobin, 1980). This result of 2.92 is lesser compared to the 3.55 reported in unfermented cocoa nibs but higher than the 2.55 in fermented cocoa nibs (Adeyeye et al., 2010). This result showed that P. mildbraedii would have better physiological utility in the body than the fermented cocoa nibs. CONCLUSION The study on proximate composition showed that the vegetable is a valuable source of nutrients and it is comparable to many proteins rich crops hence it could be used as a protein source for human consumption especially where protein sources from animal products are very expensive. Moreover, the study revealed that the leaves of P. mildbraedii Harms is a good class of oil plant for domestic and industrial purposes. The result of the mineral composition also reveals its high content of minerals such as P, Ca, Na, Zn, K, Mg and Fe indicating its relevance and indispensable roles in solving many mineral related problems in the consumers. Some of these minerals are useful in patient suffering from bone thinning, adult rickets, bone fraction, bone leaching or bone weakling. The high protein content and rich amino acid profile further eulogize the inestimable nutritional values of the plant. It can therefore be concluded that P. mildbraedii Harms is a potential industrial raw material for food formulation and drug development. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The contribution of Mr Omotayo F. O. of the University of Ado Ekiti, Nigeria and Mr Oguntokun M.O of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria is gratefully acknowledged.

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