TITLE:
Macro-nutrients in edible parts of food crops in the region of Moanda, Gabon
AUTHORS:
Jean Aubin Ondo, Richard Menye Biyogo, Magloire Ollui-Mboulou, François Eba, Joseph Omva-Zue
KEYWORDS:
Food Crops; Macro-Nutrients; Daily Intake; Moanda
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.3 No.5,
September
24,
2012
ABSTRACT: The assessment of nutritive foodstuffs quality is an important step in the estimation of dietary intake of metals. This study aimed to assess accumulation and the daily intake of macro-elements magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium in edible parts of plants grown in Moanda area. The ranges of concentrations were 246 - 5645 mg/kg, 1167 - 35105 mg/kg, 158 - 12563 mg/kg and 88 - 795 mg/kg for Mg, Ca, K and Na, respectively. Mg and K levels were significantly higher in fruits than in tubers. The trend of accumulation in the edible parts of plants was generally: Ca > K > Mg > Na. The daily intakes of Mg and Ca were the highest and indicated food crops in Moanda had a good nutritive quality.