ABSTRACT
This study assessed the proximate and mineral composition of fura da nono processed and sold in Okada and Eyaen communities of Edo State. Forty (40) samples of fura da nono were collected at Okada in Ovia North-East Local Government Area and also at Eyaen in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area and transported to the lab in ice-packs. Samples obtained from the two locations were bulked separately and homogenized. Triplicates were taken for chemical analysis using standard AOAC procedure (2016) to determine the proximate composition of pH, moisture content (MC), crude protein (CP), Ash, crude fibre (CF), ether extract (EE) and nitrogen free extract (NFE), some minerals which includes calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), potassium (K), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), Zinc(Zn) and some heavy metals like cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb). Mineral/heavy metal determination was done using wet digestion method, and the respective concentration was read using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS model: SOLAAR 968 Unicam Series) for Ca, Fe, Mg and Zn; Flame Photometer for Na, K and Spectrophotometer (model: Spectronic 20D+) for P followed methods described by AOAC (2003). Data collected were subjected to one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and significant means were separated using Duncan multiple range test (DMRT). Results showed no significant variation existed in the proximate results of Okada samples of fura da nono and that of Eyaen samples, the proximate (%) results are as follows; from Okada pH (2.867), MC (81.75), CP (5.000), Ash (1.033), CF (0.2067), EE (4.953), and NFE (7.070), while for Eyaen the pH, Mc, Cp, Ash, Cf, EE and NFE (4.363, 87.22, 3.500, 0.8300, 0.2367, 4.937 and 3.257) respectively.
