The main objective of this study was to investigate the proximate, mineral and phytochemical compositions of sweet corn cob (SCC), often neglected and regarded as agricultural waste. Compositional analysis showed that more than 60% of SCC was composed of insoluble dietary fibre, with cellulose being the major constituent. Results also showed that SCC can be a good source of non-essential protein and minerals (phosphorus, potassium and manganese). SCC had a total phenolic content of 6.74 g GAE kg À1 dry weight (DW), of which bound phenolics were predominant. The bound phenolics fraction showed the highest antioxidant capacity in all three antioxidant capacity assays (TEAC, FRAP and DPPH) and contained the highest amount of ferulic and p-coumaric acid. The main carotenoids present in SCC were b-carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein. This investigation shows that SCC can be a potential source of natural colorant (carotenoids), antioxidants (phenolics) and nutritional supplements (proteins and phytochemicals). Valorisation of sweet corn (Zea mays) cob T. Lau et al. *All content based on the freeze-dried sweet corn cob. Values presented as mean AE standard deviation; Superscripts indicate significantly different at P ≤ 0.05. † Presented as polymers, contributing to hemicellulose content.