Fatima Mairami1 and Samira Abdulmudallib Abdullahi2
1Department of Biology, Baze University, Abuja, Nigeria.
2Department of Biochemistry, Baze University, Abuja, Nigeria
*Corresponding author’s Email: Samira.abdullahi@bazeuniversity.edu.ng, doi.org/10.55639/607.020100150
ABSTRACT
Vegetables contribute significantly to global food security and public health by delivering essential macronutrients, micronutrients, and bioactive secondary metabolites. However, post-harvest spoilage severely limits their dietary and therapeutic potential. This study investigated the qualitative phytochemical profiles and proximate compositions of healthy and spoilt pumpkin (Cucurbita argyrosperma), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), and pepper (Capsicum annuum) fruits collected from Abaji Market in Abuja, Nigeria. Phytochemical screening was carried out using qualitative colorimetric techniques, whereas proximate composition (moisture, crude fat, crude protein, carbohydrate, ash, and crude fiber) was assessed using AOAC guidelines. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA (crop × condition) followed by within-crop Welch t-tests. Healthy pumpkin and tomato samples had a diverse range of phytochemicals, including tannins, phlobatannins, saponins, cardiac glycosides, anthraquinones, flavonoids, and alkaloids, whereas spoilt pumpkin contained only flavonoids and steroids, and spoilt tomato lacked all examined phytochemicals. The healthy pepper had all of the tested components except for phlobatannins, but the spoilt pepper only contained phlobatannins. Proximate analysis showed an increase in moisture content and significant decline (P ≤0.05) in the nutritional parameters of spoilt fruits. Healthy tomatoes had the highest levels of crude protein (4.75 ±0.07%), while healthy peppers had the highest levels of ash (0.92± 0.01%) and carbohydrates (23.79 ±0.14%). Crude protein, crude fat, carbohydrates, ash, and crude fiber, on the other hand, were significantly reduced in spoilt samples of all three species (except crude fat in tomato). These findings show that post-harvest spoilage decreases both the phytochemicals and the core macronutrient value of key market produce, emphasizing the critical need for better post-harvest handling and storage procedures.
KEYWORDS
Abaji,
Thickener,
Pepper
Proximate,
Phytochemical.
.