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Composition of dishes consumed in Cameroon
Author(s) -
Ponka Roger,
Fokou Elie,
Fotso Martin,
Tchouanguep Félicité Mbiapo,
Leke Rose,
Souopgui Jacob,
Bih Mercy Achu
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
international journal of food science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.831
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1365-2621
pISSN - 0950-5423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.2005.01072.x
Subject(s) - zinc , leafy vegetables , magnesium , food science , chemistry , composition (language) , atomic absorption spectroscopy , botany , horticulture , biology , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , philosophy , linguistics
Summary This study deals with determination of some of the mineral salts and phytate contents in the food consumed by inhabitants of Cameroon known as Ngali II, a rural area, which is a malaria endemic zone. The food consumed by the people of this area are light and thick sauces prepared from several green leafy vegetables, leguminous seeds and cucurbit seeds (egusi seeds), pastes prepared from leguminous seeds or egusi seeds complemented with different tubers and plantains. The mineral salt contents were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and phytate by spectrophotometric methods. The results are expressed in mg (100 g) −1 dry weight. Iron: 1.32–28.46, zinc: 2.0–7.28, copper: 0.13–1.09, magnesium: 24.5–369.8 and phytate: 9.08–1988.2. This study reveals that a high consumption of food rich in zinc will greatly reduce the high prevalence of malaria in Ngali II.