| Summary: | In order to ensure the nutritional quality of leafy vegetables produced under intensive cultivation systems, the proximate composition, mineral profile, and trypsin-inhibitory activity of three priority West African vegetable species ( Amaranthus cruentus, Ocimum gratissimum , and Solanum macrocarpon ) produced with urea micro-doses (20, 40, and 60 kg/ha) were compared with control leaves raised without urea. Plants were harvested three consecutive times to determine effects on nutrient and trypsin-inhibitory activity. Proximate and mineral compositions were mainly species-dependent (p<0.05) though the 60 kg/ha urea dose produced the significantly (p<0.05) highest moisture content in leaves. Calcium, copper, iron, and zinc contents were significantly (p<0.05) influenced by harvest time and its interaction with vegetable species. Furthermore, trypsin inhibition was significantly (p<0.05) higher for the second and third leaf harvests, which suggests that initial wounding from the first harvest enhanced synthesis of the inhibitor protein molecules
|
|---|