in vitro Determination of Nutritive and Antinutritive Contents of Helichrysum petiolare Hilliard & B.L. Burtt

Abstract

Till date, less studies have been done on the nutritive and antinutritive constituents of Helichrysum petiolare. This study therefore evaluated the nutritive and antinutritive constituents of the plant using proximate analysis and standard laboratory procedures, respectively. The result showed high levels of acid detergent fibre (ADF), vitamins (A, C and E), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and minerals in H. petiolare. The high ADF level was believed to be responsible for the low energy, fat and carbohydrate levels observed in this study. The result also showed high level of oxalate and therefore, suggests cooking of the plant before human consumption. Overall nutrition, antinutritional and mineral compositions of the plant showed that the H. petiolare is immensely rich in vital nutrients that are of great importance to health and metabolism. These nutrients are suggested to be partly responsible for the plant’s useful medicinal properties.