Nutritional and antimicrobial evaluation of Saccharum officinarum consumed in Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) stem pulp is widely consumed in Nigeria as a snack mainly for sugar content and is believed to possess some remedy against infectious diseases. This study therefore quantitatively evaluated the nutritional and chemical composition of the sugarcane stem pulp with a view to validating this claim. The results of proximate composition indicate relatively high amount of moisture (71.91 ± 0.05%) and a low level of dry matter (28.09%) consisting of carbohydrate (58.55 ± 0.04 g/100 g), fibre (29.88 g/100 g), ash (6.69 g/100 g) and some mineral elements, implying an active role in nutrient supplementation. Generous amounts of phytochemical compounds such as alkaloids (8.07 ± 0.04 µg/100 g), saponins (5.57 ± 0.01 µg/100 g) and flavonoids (1.52 ± 0.02 µg/100 g); and mineral elements including magnesium (1.596 mg/100 g), potassium (0.639 mg/100 g), calcium (0.318 mg/100 g) and others in trace amounts were also obtained. .Antimicrobial results revealed that the sugarcane extract showed the highest growth inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus (8.67 -24.00 mm) among the bacterial isolates and C. albicans (6.00 -14.00 mm) for the fungal isolates studied. Data from the study suggest that sugarcane stem pulp could be suitable for use in rehydration and as a functional food plant. Also, the plant possesses some antimicrobial qualities which could be beneficial to both pharmaceutical and food industries.

Cabo Verde’s Poaceae Flora: A Reservoir of Crop Wild Relatives Diversity for Crop Improvement

“…The native distribution of each crop species was obtained from GRIN (USDA, 2020), preferentially, and from POWO (2019). Additionally, for each crop species two measures of food supply -protein (g/100 g) and fat (g/100 g) -were retrieved from available literature (Kajuna, 2001;Belton and Taylor, 2004;Amadou et al, 2013;Chandi and Annor, 2016;Taylor, 2016;Williams et al, 2016;Wrigley, 2016) and the ICRISAT website (ICRISAT, 2020); also, two measures of global agricultural production -harvested area (ha) and production quantity (tons), using data from three recent years (2016-2018) (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations [FAOSTAT], 2020) -were included. When the information on the agricultural production was aggregated for the listed crop, which is usually the case of millets, the values were disaggregated through division of the total value by all the identified crops.…”

Traditional medicinal plants used for treating emerging and re-emerging viral diseases in northern Nigeria

“… Used to treat fever, headache, skin infection, typhoid fever, malaria, measles, cough, leprosy and anemia in Benin republic. Used as abortifacient in Northern Nigeria and for fever in Ghana [ 261 , 262 ] The LD 50 of hydroethanolic stem bark extract is > 5 g/kg [263] Poliomyelitis, Hepatitis, meningitis Ricinus communis L Used as mosquito repellant, relieve stomachache, jaundice and toothache, convulsions, cold, catarrh, boils itching skin disease such as craw-craw [59] Contains toxic compounds such as ricin and ricinine and has shown toxicity at 3 g/kg of oral administration [264] Yellow fever, poliomyelitis Saccharum officinarum L. Used to treat liver related diseases, jaundice, hemorrhoid and dysentery in Nigeria [265] Contains some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) [266] Yellow fever, poliomyelitis Sclerocarya birrea (A.Rich.) Hochst.…”