Fruit Characteristics and Nutrient Composition of Landrace Morphotypes of Snake Tomato

Abstract Snake tomato, Trichosanthes cucumerina L., is used as a substitute for the regular tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum(L.) Mill.) in Nigeria. Information is lacking in the literature on the fruit characteristics and food value of this plant. The fruit characteristics and nutrient composition of three morphotypes of T. cucumerina were studied. Results indicated that average: fruit weight ranged from 438.1-651.4 g; fresh pulp weight from 20.4-37.6 g; seed weight/fruit from 21.8-39.5 g; number of seed/per fruit from 54-70; and 100-seed weight from 39.2-64.1 g. Nutrient composition analyses indicated that seed of the three morphotypes are good sources of crude protein (26.2-26.6 g/100 g), fat (44.6-57.2 g/100 g), phosphorus (78.0-81.5 mg/100 g) and calcium (41.0-46.7 mg/100 g). The pulp is a good source of ascorbic acid (23.1-23.3 mg/100 g), suggesting its possible use for paste and puree. The anti-nutritional oxalate content is low (1.20-2.62 mg/100 g), suggesting that mineral nutrients will not be held in an unavailable form. The essential amino acid composition of seed was significantly higher than that of pulp. Genetic improvement and further studies on the agronomy of this plant are recommended so as to encourage its cultivation.

[1]  F. N. David,et al.  Principles and procedures of statistics. , 1961 .

[2]  G. Tarawali,et al.  Seed characteristics and nutrient and antinutrient composition of 12 Mucuna accessions from Nigeria , 2003 .

[3]  W. Horwitz.  Official Methods of Analysis , 1980 .

[4]  B. Holland,et al.  Vegetables, herbs and spices: fifth supplement to McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods. , 1991 .

[5]  J. Davies.  Vegetables, Herbs and Spices , 1991 .

[6]  Charles W. Wilson,et al.  Analysis of oxalic acid in carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) and spinach by high-performance liquid chromatography , 1982 .

[7]  D. Johnsen.  B. Holland, I. D. Unwin und D. H. Buss: Vegetables, Herbs and Spices. The Fifth Supplement to McCance & Widdowson's The Composition of Foods (4th Edition). 163 Seiten. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge 1991. Preis: 24,50 £ , 1992 .

[8]  T. Walters,et al.  Ethnobotany and the economic role of the cucurbitaceae of china , 1992, Economic Botany.

[9]  O. Adebooye,et al.  Studies on seed characteristics and chemical composition of three morphotypes of Mucuna urens (L.) Medikus - Fabaceae , 2006 .

[10]  O. Oke.  Chemical Studies of Some Nigerian Vegetables , 1965, Experimental Agriculture.

[11]  H. D. Spitz.  A new approach for sample preparation of protein hydrolyzates for amino acid analysis. , 1973, Analytical biochemistry.

[12]  S. Moore,et al.  On the determination of cystine as cysteic acid. , 1963 .

[13]  K. Becker,et al.  Preliminary nutritional evaluation of Mucuna seed meal (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis) in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.): an assessment by growth performance and feed utilisation , 2001 .

[14]  F. Ayorinde,et al.  Preliminary nutritional and chemical evaluation of raw seeds from Mucuna sloanei: an underutilized food source , 1985 .

[15]  H. Robinson.  Principles and Procedures of Statistics , 1961 .