An assessment of the impact of vehicular emission on proximate composition of roadside <i>Amaranthus hybridus</i> in Zaria Metropolis, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

The work assesses the effect of vehicular emissions at traffic hotspots in Zaria metropolis, Nigeria on the proximate composition of roadside Amaranthus hybridus. The concentration of all the pollutants [particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and hydrocarbons (CxHy)] were either below or within the Nigerian Ambient Air Quality Standard ( NAAQS) limit of 0.05 ppm, with the exception of CxHy at the morning peak hours with mean value 0.055 ppm. The range of values determined for proximate composition of the Amaranthus hybridus were 29. 41 -30.15%, 2.94 -3.20%, 4.09 -4.68%, 6.75 -6.82%, 4.04 -4.44% and 55.47 -56.27% for the moisture, fat, ash, crude protein, crude fibre and carbohydrate contents respectively. There was no significant difference (P < 0.05) in the proximate compositions of the Amaranthus hybridus cultivated at the roadside (experimental sites) compared to the control. Therefore, vehicular emissions did not cause any negative impact on the proximate composition of roadside Amaranthus hybridus in Zaria metropolis.