Living and Making Sustainable Choices That Nourish Our Body

Abstract

The study was aim at evaluating the nutritional/chemical constituent as well as the free radical scavenging potentials of yahauri spice (a blend of spices common among the yahauri community in Northern Nigeria). The blended spices where analyzed for their proximate and mineral composition, phytochemical constituents (Qualitative and Quantitative) and in addition their free radical scavenging properties against Diphenyl-2- picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH). The result of the proximate analysis shows it contains carbohydrate (27.27±0.65), Crude Fiber (34.6±0.73), Crude protein (9.30±0.11), crude lipid (13.14±0.02), total ash (8.48±0.02) and the moisture content was 7.22±0.03, whereas the mineral compositions of the spice include: Magnesium, Iron, Calcium, Zinc Copper, Nickel and Cobalt with Calcium having highest amount (20.40±0.00). Result of phytochemical screening of the spice revealed the presence of Saponin Alkaloid, Terpenoids Triterpenes and Steroids while the free radical inhibition studies against DPPH shows an increase in inhibition with increase in concentration of the spice. Therefore the study justifies the wide used of the spice among the yahauri community for both culinary and therapeutic purposes owing to its rich bioactive and nutritional composition.