Nutrient Quality and Spoilage Fungi of Two Varieties of Coconut
Abstract
Studies on the nutrient and associated spoilage fungi of two varieties of coconut were carried out in the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Rivers State University. Proximate composition assessment revealed that the green variety had higher values for ash (2.6±0.00), lipid (35±0.01), fibre (5.0±0.00), carbohydrate (8.4±0.04) and protein (4.0±0.01). Moisture content was found to be higher (80±0.00) in the yellow variety. Mineral investigation revealed the presence of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and sodium in both varieties. It was observed that the green variety recorded higher values for all the assessed mineral contents. Vitamin composition analysis showed the availability of vitamin C and thiamine. Vitamin C was found only in the Yellow variety while the green variety had higher content of thiamine (0.05±0.03). Phytochemical screening revealed appreciable amounts of glycoside, oxalate, saponin, tannin, polyphenol and flavonoid in both coconut varieties. Three fungal organisms (Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus sp and Fusarium oxysporum) were isolated from spoilt fruits of coconut. However, Rhizopus sp and F. oxysporum were recorded only for the green variety with 70% and 30% incidence respectively. Postharvest fungi of the yellow variety revealed A. niger and F. oxysporum with incidences of 80% and 20% respectively. Generally, the green variety had more nutrient than the yellow variety and F. oxysporum was associated with the spoilage of both varieties.
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References
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