PROXIMATE AND MINERAL COMPOSITION OF Pentadiplandra brazzeana STEM BARK

Plants are the cheapest and indispensable constituents of human diets supplying the body nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fats, amino acids, vitamins) necessary for growth and body development. Therefore, this work was designed to examine the proximate and mineral composition of Pentadiplandra brazzeana stem bark (PBSB). Proximate composition of PBSB revealed the presence of 8.75 % moisture, 91.25 % dry matter, 6.43 % crude protein, 41.03 % crude fibre, 5.70 % ether extract, 12.11 % ash, 17.82 (g/100 g) carbohydrates, 0.47 % total reducing sugar and 632.2 Kj/100g energy respectively. Results on mineral analysis shows that PSSB is abundant in calcium (73.84 mg/100g) followed by phosphorus (41.55 mg/100g), magnesium (32.56 mg/100g), sodium (28.11 mg/100g), zinc (17.56 mg/100g), manganese (10.88 mg/100g), potassium (9.47 mg/100g) and copper (2.33 mg/100g). In order of mineral abundance in PBSB Ca ˃ phosphorus ˃ magnesium ˃ sodium ˃ zinc ˃ manganese ˃ potassium ˃ copper. It was concluded that PBSB is low in protein, energy and some minerals (copper and potassium).

2003). The shrub morph usually has a mass of branched bulging roots, while the liana morph has a large, fleshy tuber. The branches are without hair and carry alternately set, simple and entire leaves, without stipules at the base of the ½-1 cm (0.2-0.4 in) long leaf stalk (Walters and Hellekant, 2006).
Traditionally, the roots are antibacterial, aphrodisiac, cathartic, emmenagogue, laxative, purgative. They are widely used by women to assist in the birth process and also to deal with problems related to the urogenital system . A root decoction can stimulate uterine contractions and has been used to induce abortion and should be avoided by pregnant women until the later stages of the pregnancy (Guevara et al., 2016;Jin et al., 2003). Root decoction of Pentadiplandra brazzeana is usually administered orally, or applied as an enema, to facilitate the expulsion of the placenta, and is also said to prevent hemorrhages after parturition (Latham, 2004;Kamtchouing et al., 2002).
Phytochemical screening of the roots and leaves has led to the isolation of urea derivatives including sulfur-containing compounds such as methyl N-benzylthiocarbamate, methyl, and ethyl N-methoxybenzylthiocarbamate and glucosinolates such as benzyl-and 4-methoxybenzyl glucosinolates (Ngamga, 2005;Tsopmo et al., 1999). Carbamates obtained from the roots have shown antibacterial properties in vitro against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and against the yeast Candida albicans (Tancredi et al., 2004). The root is also rich in glucosinolates and is believed to contribute to the revitalizing of collagen and to restore skin tonicity (El Migirab et al., 1977). Crude extracts of tubers have revealed moderately strong antiplasmodial activity in vitro but were not as effective as chloroquine .
In view of this abundant potential, this experiment was designed to examine the proximate and mineral composition of Pentadiplandra brazzeana stem bark.

Site of the experiment:
The experiment was carried out at the Division of Animal Nutrition, Sumitra Research Institute, Gujarat, India during the month of January to February, 2019.

Plant collection, identification and processing:
The fresh stem bark of Pentadiplandra brazzeana was obtained from different plants within Sumitra Teaching and Research Farm, Gujarat, India. The sample was authenticated by a crop taxonomist (Dr. Singh Kumar). The harvested stem bark was washed with running tap water to remove dirt's, shade dried for 15 days to maintain the bioactive chemicals and nutrients in the sample, grounded into a fine powder using mortar and pestle, sieved, and stored in an airtight welllabeled container (PBSP) for further analysis. The analyses were done in triplicates according to the official methods of the association of official analytical chemist (AOAC, 2000).

Measurements -Proximate analysis:
Crude fibre (CF), crude protein (CP), moisture, ether extract, and moisture content were determined according to the official methods of the association of official analytical chemists (AOAC, 2000). Dry matter was obtained by subtracting moisture content from 100 while energy value (KJ/100g) was calculated using the equation below: Electronic Research Journal of Engineering, Computer and Applied Sciences www.erjsciences.info Volume 1 (2019) Energy = (37× Ether extract) + (17 × carbohydrate) + (17 × crude protein)

Statistical analysis:
The analyses were done in triplicates and the data obtained were expressed as mean ± standard error of the means (mean ± S.E.M). The data were subjected to a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and differences between samples were determined Duncan multiple range tests (Duncan, 1955). Significant was declared if P ≤ 0.05.

Proximate composition of Pentadiplandra brazzeana stem powder (PBSP):
The proximate composition of Pentadiplandra brazzeana stem powder (PBSP) is presented in Table 1 Proteins are vital in the repair of worn-out tissues and transport of oxygen in the body, the result obtained is an indication that PBSB may not be able to supply an adequate amount of dietary protein (Ojewuyi et al., 2014). The value for ether extract obtained in this experiment was lower than values obtained by Andrew et al. (2018) but the ash content was higher than those reported for Hua gabonii stem bark (9.70 %), Mondia whitei root (9.60 %), Pentadiplandra brazzeama root (9.50 %) and Scorodophleus zenkeri stem bark (9.60 %) by Armand et al. (2012). According to Electronic Research Journal of Engineering, Computer and Applied Sciences www.erjsciences.info Volume 1 (2019) 94 Aiyesanmi and Oguntokun (1996);Pamela et al. (2005) fats are needed in the diet to supply energy, facilitate the transport of fat-soluble vitamins, retain the palatability of foods and contribute to important cell process. Ash content also gives an indication of minerals present in a sample (Onwuka, 2005). A reducing sugar contains aldehyde or ketone in its molecular structure and lowers the risk of developing overweight and obesity and other health conditions (Michael et al., 2013). The result obtained confirms the findings of Atamgba et al. (2015) who evaluated the proximate composition of Jatropha curcas stem bark. Carbohydrate composition of PBSB (17.82 %) was lower than the values obtained for Sida acuta (66.21 %), Jatropha curcas leaf (36.33 %) by Enin et al. (2015); Atamgba et al. (2015) but contrary to the findings of Armand et al. (2015) who reported that Aframomum daniellii stem, Dorstenia psilirus root, and Echinops giganteus contained 11.9, 8.9 and 12.1 (g/100g) respectively. The result thus suggests that PBSB may not be able to supply adequate amounts of energy in the diets of animals. Values expressed as mean ± SEM (n=3) Means in the same row with different superscripts differ significantly (P<0.05) Table 2 revealed the mineral composition of Pentadiplandra brazzeana stem powder (PBSP). The sample contained calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, manganese and copper at 73.84 mg/100g, 41.55 mg/100g, 9.47 mg/100g, 32.56 mg/100g, 28.11 mg/100g, 17.56 mg/100g, 50.88 mg/100g and 2.33 mg/100g. The minerals follow this sequence in order of abundance calcium ˃ phosphorus ˃ magnesium ˃ sodium ˃ zinc ˃ manganese ˃ potassium ˃ copper respectively. Minerals serve as essential components of many enzymes, vitamins, hormones, and respiratory pigments, or as cofactors in metabolism, catalysts, and enzyme activators (Alagbe and Motunrade, 2019; Alagbe 2017), they also play a key role in the maintenance of osmotic pressure and thus regulate the exchange of water and solutes within the animal body (Arinola et al., 2008;Alagbe et al., 2018). However all values were within the range reported by WHO (1991); PBSP is abundant in calcium which confers it the ability to strengthen the bones, teeth, maintain extracellular fluids, and used for transmission of nerve impulses (Mann and Otori, 2014;Vasudevan and Sreekumari, 2007). Phosphorus is an essential component of phospholipids, nucleic acids, phosphoproteins (casein), high energy phosphate esters (ATP), hexose phosphates, creatine phosphate, and several key enzymes (Indrayan et al., 2005). Potassium is the major cation of intracellular fluid, and regulates intracellular osmotic pressure; acid-base balance and protein synthesis and its deficiency in animals could lead to anorexia, weakness, and Electronic Research Journal of Engineering, Computer and Applied Sciences www.erjsciences.info Volume 1 (2019) respiratory challenges (Ouilly et al., 2017;Bamishaiye et al., 2011). Enzyme activation, regulation of acid-base, and metabolism of carbohydrate, lipid, and protein are enhanced by the presence of magnesium (Okwu and Ekeke, 2003). Copper is involved in iron metabolism, hemoglobin synthesis, and red blood cell production and maintenance (Okwu, 2005;Andzouana and Mombouli, 2012). Sodium is an important intracellular cation involved in the regulation of plasma volume, acid-base balance, and nerve contraction (Akpanyung, 2005). Zinc serves as a cofactor in many enzyme systems, lipid, protein, carbohydrate metabolism as well as the metabolism of nucleic acids (Kawo et al., 2009).

Mineral composition of Pentadiplandra brazzeana stem powder (PBSP):
Manganese functions in the body as an enzyme activator is vital in bone formation, regeneration of red blood cells, carbohydrate metabolism, and the reproductive cycle (Hussain et al., 2013). Values expressed as mean ± SEM (n=3) Means in the same row with different superscripts differ significantly (P<0.05)

Conclusion:
Plants are the cheapest and most important available sources of nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids) and bioactive chemicals with recognized medicinal value; the efficiency of medicinal plants for therapeutic purpose is based on their phytochemical composition which confers them the ability to perform multiple biological activities such as antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant, antiviral, etc. There are over 250,000 species of medicinal plants, some of which are still underexplored globally. The constant research into some of these plants will promote food safety, livestock production, prevent environmental contamination with synthetic chemicals, and reduce high cases of cancer and other ailments in humans.