Chemical evaluation of the nutritive value of leaf of fluted pumpkin (Telferia occidentalis)

The nutritive values of the leaf of fluted pumpkin has been evaluated chemically. The leaf was found to contain (g/100) dry wt) 30·5 + 2·5 crude protein. 3·0 + 0·15 crude lipid, 8·3 ± 0·50 crude fibre and 8·4 ± 0·50 total ash. The potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron contents of ash were 594, 144, 100 and 12·0 mg/100 g dry wt, respectively. The leaf was found to have a high level of tannic acid but the levels of phytic acid and oxalate were within the normal range. The leaf has an excellent ratio of essential amino acids to total nitrogen. Methionine was found to be the limiting amino acid with a chemical score of 16.