Journal of Experimental Agriculture International

The amino acids, vitamins and proximate composition of fluted pumpkin, Telfairia occidentalis grown in three different selected solid media; humus soil, white-sand and wood sawdust were assessed and compared. Standard procedure and equipment were followed and used, respectively for the determination of the bioactive components of T. occidentalis leaf. Proximate composition of T. occidentalis in the three media were: carbohydrate (12.76%, 20.40% and 6.37%), crude fibre (4.76%, 5.70% and 5.59%), ash content (0.47%, 0.58% and 0.73%), crude lipid (0.30%, 1.00% and 0.10%) and moisture content (81.41%, 72.02% and 86.91%) for humus soil, white-sand and wood sawdust, respectively while the crude protein was constant at 0.30%. In that same order, the total amino acids were 9.75 g/100g, 7.53 g/100 g and 13.46%. The essential amino acids (5.85%, 4.49% and 7.94%) and non-essential amino acids (3.90 g/100 g, 3.04 g/100 g and 5.52 g/100 g) varied for humus soil, white-sand and sawdust, respectively. Among the amino acids, histidine (1.73 g/100 g, 1.34 g/100 g, and 2.45 g/100 g), cysteine (1.26 g/100 g, 0.98 g/100 g and 1.78 g/100 g) and threonine (1.23 g/100 g, 0.96 g/100 g and 1.75 g/100 g) were the most abundant while proline (0.01 g/100 g) was the least for humus soil, white-sand and sawdust as a medium of growth for pumpkin. The percentage water soluble vitamins (B₁, B₂, B₃, B₆, B₁₂ and C): 26.16%, 71.42% and 135.53% and fat-soluble vitamins (A, E and K): 18.87%, 19.95% and 41.73% for humus soil, white-sand and sawdust, respectively. The water-soluble vitamins accounted for the high total vitamins obtained. The study has shown that T. occidentalis can be grown in white-sand and sawdust without losing the bioactive compounds rather improving its availability.