DOI:
VOLUME 2 – AUGUST ISSUE 8
Nkeiruka Glory Imo*, Cletus Otu Obun, Raphael James Wafar, Chinedu Imo and Idi Ali Nicodemus
ABSTRACT
Ginger, clove, turmeric and thyme are different plant materials that are widely used in different forms by indigenes of many countries, especially in nutrition. They are believed to have many nutritional, medicinal and pharmaceutical uses. This study evaluated the proximate composition of ginger, clove, turmeric and thyme. The ginger, clove, turmeric and thyme were obtained at New Market, Wukari, Nigeria. They were cleaned to remove dirt and dried. The dried plant samples were milled to a powder which was used for the determination of their respective proximate compositions. Determination of the proximate composition parameters was done using the official methods of proximate analysis of Association of Official Analytical Chemists. The results showed that moisture, ash and crude protein contents are higher in clove and lower in ginger than in turmeric and thyme. There is no significant difference (p>0.05) in the levels of moisture, ash, crude fibre and crude protein in turmeric and thyme. There is a statistically significant differences (p0.05) in the level of crude fibre in ginger and clove, and in turmeric and thyme. Carbohydrate is significantly higher (p0.05) in the level of carbohydrate between clove and thyme. This study showed that ginger, clove, turmeric and thyme contain appreciable levels of some proximate composition parameters. They may be good sources of energy and could play certain immunological, physiological and nutritional roles.
Keywords:
Clove, Ginger, Nutrition, Proximate composition, Thyme, Turmeric.
