Nutritional and Anti-nutritional Characteristics of Okra (Abelmoschus esculents (L.) Moench) Accessions Grown in Pawe District, Northwestern Ethiopia
Unknown authors
Abstract
Okra is one of the nutritious and multipurpose vegetables widely consumed in different parts of the world.The nutritional and other chemical profiles of accessions of the crop grown in the Pawe area, however, are not properly known.Therefore, the main objective of this study was to determine the nutritional and anti-nutritional content of thirteen indigenous okra accessions grown at Pawe District in Benishangul Gumuz regional state, Ethiopia.The result of the study showed that the nutritional composition has a significant (P ≤ 0.05) difference among okra pod accessions.The moisture, ash, protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and carbohydrate contents were raged from 89. 07 -91.46, 7.16 -8.25, 18.2 -22.06, 0.88 -1.43, 1.66 -5.98, and 52.71 -60.67 % respectively.While the content of oxalate, phytate, and tannin ranged from 0.56 -0.73, 0.30 -0.34, and 6.4 -6.7 mg/100g, respectively, only oxalate content has significant (P ≤0.05) difference among accessions.Results indicate that okra pods are rich in nutrients and can contribute a vital role to human health.Further research is recommended on processing methods that influence the nutritional quality of okra pods.