Determination of Iron Content in Indigenous Vegetables in South West Nigeria

Abstract

This study was done to determine the level of iron in selected indigenous vegetables (grown in Ede, Osun State, Nigeria) using colorimetric method. The six indigenous and  three common ones selected for the study are; Basella alba (Amunututu), Ocimum gratissium (Efirin), Talinum fruticosum (Gbure), Amaranthus hybridus (Tete adayeba), Amaranthus hybridus (Tete olowojeja), Corchorus olitorius (Ewedu), Telfairia occidentalis (Ugwu), Celosia argentea (Soko) and finally Amaranthus hybridus (Tete). The vegetables were ashed and iron content of the vegetables was determined colorimetrically at 470 nm. The results showed that, amongst the indigenous vegetables the iron concentration ranged from 0.094 to 0.66 ppm with Amaranthus hybridus (Tete adayeba) and the Basella alba (Amunututu) recording the highest and lowest levels respectively. The common vegetables had iron levels ranging from 0.0304 to 0.703 ppm with Amaranthus hybridus (Tete) recording the lowest level and Telfairia occidentalis (Ugwu) recording the highest level respectively. The findings showed that the sampled indigenous vegetables are a good source of iron in diet.