ABSTRACT

The study assessed the effectiveness of plant essential oils in the preservation of Fluted Pumpkin leaves. The study was conducted at the Department of Crop Science Glass House, 305 Teaching and Research Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, in a 3x4 factorial arranged in a Completely Randomized Design. Freshly harvested Fluted Pumpkin was used. The plant essential oils used were Vanilla oil, Black seed oil, and Jojoba oil. The plant essential oils were diluted with ethanol (2 ml: 20 ml) before diluted with sterile distilled water (2 ml:198 ml). The samples treated with Vanilla oil had high calorie content, %mineral content, %Carbohydrate content, and low % Protein content. The samples treated with Black seed oil had the lowest %Mineral content. The samples treated with Jojoba oil had a low Calorie content compared to the other treated samples.

Key words; Fluted Pumpkin, Plant essential oils, Completely Randomized Design, Proximate analysis, and Nutrient Components