These preliminary data suggest that consumption of aloe vera may be of help to HIV-infected individuals in the tropics, given its availability and inexpensiveness.
Vitamin E, phytosterol, and phospholipids are classes of lipids that are also referred to as nutraceuticals. These lipids are components of foods, which have nutritional as well as numerous other health benefits, and consumption has been shown to prevent certain deadly diseases. These compounds can only be obtained from plant products; there is therefore a need for more research on the availability of these compounds from common food sources. Oils extracted from Citrullus colocynthis and Parkia biglobosa seeds were analysed for vitamin E, phospholipid, and phytosterol contents using a chromatographic technique. The seeds had total vitamin E contents of 53.47 and 42.57 mg/100 g, phytosterol contents of 260 and 451 mg/100 g, and phospholipid contents of 409 and 1,603 mg/100 g for C. colocynthis and P. biglobosa, respectively. Thus, consumption of these two plants as condiments will help people consume these essential lipids and could serve as dietary supplements to prevent and combat occurrence of certain deadly diseases; this is important as the world is revolving towards disease prevention rather than curing, which is often more expensive and difficult.
Malnutrition and lack of economic sustainability are major problems in developing countries. This study was conducted to evaluate and compare the nutrients‘ contents of three locally grown nuts in Nigeria (local groundnut, Kampala groundnut and breadnut) and highlight their health and economic potentials. Proximate analysis, chemical properties, minerals and fatty acids composition of the nuts were determined. The highest protein, crude fibre and carbohydrate contents were found in Kampala groundnut, local groundnut and breadnut respectively. Their sodium-potassium ratios were all less than 1.0 and their oils have mainly unsaturated fatty acids. Their acid values ranged between (2.41–6.34 mgKOH/g) while the iodine values were between 36.0 and 93.0 I2 g/100 g. Analysis of the nuts and their oils indicated that they could help in solving malnutrition problem and also boost nations’ economy. Encouraging their large scale production can enhance adequate nutrition and sustain industrial growth in developing countries.
Background: Bioactive compounds are naturally occurring compounds in plants and animal products. They are known to have a variety of physiological functions in the body system such as: promoting general body development and prevention of the occurrence of some deadly diseases. The high burden of treatment of some deadly diseases like cancer, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases has raised the need for scientists to generate empirical evidence on preventing these diseases using a dietary approach. Nuts have been identified as plants with potential to improve human health and prevent diseases when consumed adequately because of their rich constituents. This research work was conducted to evaluate and elucidate the bioactive components of locally grown nuts and their potential health benefits. Methods: The Phenolic compounds, phytosterols, tocopherols, and tocotrienols contents of the nuts were analyzed using standard methods. Results: Fourteen phenolic compounds were detected in the two nuts with cinnamic and gallic acids detected in appreciable amounts in groundnuts and caffeic acid in cashew nut. The total amount of tocopherols in cashew nut was 14.08 mg/100g and 37.95 mg/100g in groundnut and the total tocotrienol was 0.85 and 4.00 × 10-3 mg/100g for cashew nut and groundnut respectively. Both samples have high quantity of sistosterol (251.36mg/100g and 238.95 mg/ 100g for cashew nut and groundnut respectively) with cashew nut having significantly higher amount. Conclusion: The results showed that the nuts are rich in bioactive compounds and could be considered as natural sources of bioactive compounds that can be obtained from diets rich in these nuts to prevent the occurrence of certain deadly human diseases that are of high burden worldwide. Keywords: Phenolic Compounds, Tocopherols, Groundnuts, Cashew nuts
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