Spectrophometric Estimation Studies of Mineral Nutrient in Three Cocoyam Cultivars

The mineral nutrient of two cultivars of xanthosoma sagittifolium (white flesh and red flesh) and one cultivars of colocasia (colocasia asculenta) were investigated using the S series atomic absorption spectrometer (Model 711735 v1.26), Perkin-Elmer UV visible spectrophotometer (Model 295E). Xanthosoma sagittifolium (white flesh) was composed of Na (1365.05), K (3057.16), Mg (313.70), Ca (190.93), Fe (8.28), P (44.39), Zn (2.49) and Cu (0.52) (mg/100g); xanthosoma sagittifolium (red flesh) was found to contain Na (1297.89), K (1737.48), Mg (314.30), Ca (107.38), Fe (9.11), P (44.94), Zn (3.10) and Cu (0.78) (mg/100g) while colocasia esculenta contained Na (1521.34), K (4276.04), Mg (415.07), Ca (132.43), Fe (8.66), P (72.21), Zn (2.63), Mn (0.13) and Cu (0.78) (mg/100g). Manganese was not detected in the Xanthosoma Sagittifolium cultivars investigated. ANOVA results showed variations (P = 0.05) in the amounts of the nutrients within the species. The mineral composition portray the cultivars as good sources of Na, K, Mg and Ca whose salts regulate the acid-base balance of the body system. However, values obtained for Ca, Fe and Na are less than the daily requirement but could be augmented by either increasing the quantity consumed or complimenting it with other food sources.