| dc.description.abstract | Abstract—Commonly available green leafy
vegetables (GLV) are rich sources of minerals and
vitamins. Nutrient analysis of green leafy
vegetables contributes to determine the health
benefits that can be achieved by consumption.
The present study determined the iron and
vitamin C (ascorbic acid) content in some locally
available GLV (Sesbania grandiflora
(kathurumurunga), Alternanthera sessilis
(mukunuwenna), Trianthema portulacastrum
(sarana), Amaranthus viridis (thampala (green)
and Gymnema lactiferum (kurinnan)).
Leaves for the study were obtained from a vendor
in Kottawa, Sri Lanka. Moisture content of the
cleaned, washed and dried leaves were
determined using Association of Official
Analytical Chemistry (AOAC) approved oven dry
method. Ascorbic acid of fresh leaves sample was
determined by AOAC standard 2,6-
dichlorophenolindophenol titrimetric method.
Iron content was determined in dried leaves
using standard spectrophotometric method.
Moisture content of leaves ranged from 94-79
mg/100g on fresh weight basis with sarana and
kathurumurunga having the highest and lowest
moisture contents respectively. On wet weight
iron content ranged from 6-25.2 mg/100g.
Tampala had the highest iron content with lowest
in sarana. Vitamin C ranged from 45.8 – 163.4
mg/100g on fresh weight basis with
kathurumurunga having the highest and
mukunuwenna having the lowest vitamin C
contents.
Accordingly, an edible portion of 50 g of Sesbania
grandiflora provides 64 mg of the RDA
requirement (75-90mg/day) of ascorbic acid and
a 50 g of Amaranthus viridis provides 10.5 mg of
RDA requirement (8-18mg/day) of iron. Thus
incorporation of these leaves in the meal will
provide essential micronutrients necessary for
metabolic functions.
Key words: green leafy vegetables, ascorbic acid, iron content | en_US |
