Proximate and Mineral Composition of the Leaves of Hairy Indigo (Indigofera astragalina)

Abstract

Folliage of Hairy indigo (Indigofera astragalina) obtained from Sokoto state, Nigeria were studied for their proximate analysis and mineral composition. The proximate composition revealed the presence of moisture (51.00±0.50% fresh weight), ash (8.17±0.58% dry weight, DW), crude lipid (5.0±0.5% DW), crude fibre (2.67±0.29% DW), crude protein (8.23±0.11% DW) and carbohydrate (75.94±0.64%). The energy value was found to be 578.87 kcal/100 g. The minerals composition revealed, potassium (14.55±0.17 mg/100 g), sodium (0.33±0.16 mg/100 g), calcium (11.49±0.34 mg/100 g), magnesium (10.89±0.32 mg/100 g), phosphorus (0.39±0.01 mg/100 g), copper (0.02±0.00 mg/100 g), zinc (0.11±0.00 mg/100 g), iron (20.95±3.84 mg/100 g) and manganese (0.43±0.01 mg/100 g). These results revealed that the leaves of Hairy indigo (Indigofera astragalina) contained essential nutrients which compete favourably well with those of wild edible leaves in literatures.