Abstract:
Abstract: - The quest to attain food security has led to
domestication of the previously-termed wild fruits; amongst
them Dovyaliscaffra (kei-apple) fruits. Radical human lifestyle
changesand change in climatic conditions demands that food
should not only be for basic nutrition, but also health benefits.
This paper purposed to evaluate the nutrition and health levels
of Dovyaliscaffra fruits at different growth stages using wet
chemistry (Titration, pH, and Kjedhal method) and
spectrophotometry (UV-VIS and AAS). For Carbohydrates,
sucrose and fructose levels decreased with age as glucose levels
increased. Both Proteins and Lipid levels decreased with time.
The Iron content increased linearly, from 1.04900
± 0. 000005ppm in young fruit to 1.15780 ± 0. 000001 ppm in
old fruit. While the zinc content increased nonlinearly
from0.16384 ± 0. 000002 ppm in young fruit to 0.21523
± 0. 000009 in old fruit.Copper levels remained fairly constant
as the fruits aged (0.01430 ± 0. 000007 ppm) and in cobalt the
concentration decreased from 0.05604 ± 0. 000005 ppmto
0.03199 ± 0. 000006. Only Green (young) Kei-apple fruits
indicated positive antioxidant scavenging capacity against DPPH
radical at 515nm with an IC 50 level of 28.1385 ± 3.2224 μg/mL.
Key words: Food security, Dovyaliscaffra, nutrition and health
levels.
