In Nigeria, numerous organic wastes from the processing of Prosopis africana are indiscriminately discarded and this has led to environmental pollution. This study compared the phytochemical, mineral and proximate constituents of epicarp, mesocarp and seeds of P. africana. Plant samples were collected from P. africana sellers in Ogodo, Ankpa Kogi State. The collected samples were dried at room temperature for 21 days and were grounded to a powdered form. Phytochemical, proximate and mineral analyses were carried out using standard methods of AOAC (2020). Data was analysed by One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 95% confidence limits upper confidence limit and lower confidence limit using the SPSS, IBM Statistics version 21.0 software. Differences between groups were considered to be statistically significant at p≤0.05. Results revealed the epicarp, mesocarp and seeds of P. africana as a rich source of protein, carbohydrate and fibre and also contained considerable amounts of phytochemicals such as alkaloid, flavonoid, saponins, tannin and phenols. It also contained good composition of macro and micro elements like calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron. The seeds and epicarp contained a high nutritional and phytochemical composition compared to the mesocarp. The epicarp and mesocarp could be explored pharmacologically for their therapeutic values instead of being disposed.
phytochemical, mineral, proximate, Prosopis africana
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