ABSTRACT

Indigenous foods are foods produced locally which form part of the food culture inherent in the locality. Communities have evolved their own preferences and food habits over the years and have been sustained by the traditional food system. However, these foods are gradually fading off and been replaced by the modern foods or snacks which may not even compare with the latter in terms of nutritional benefits or value and affordability. Hence, the necessity to necessary to ascertain the chemical composition of indigenous dishes to help consumers make informed food choices. Survey and experimental design was adopted for the study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the 20 study sample, in which the members of the sample were selected according to the purpose of sample. In other words, samples were selected based on their origin being Anambra state.A well-structured and validated questionnaire was used to select the most consumed indigenous food in Anambra state, from which five (5) most consumed were selected based on highest frequency. The dishes studied were: banga soup (ofeakwu), white soup (ofensala), bitter leaf soup (ofeonugbu),dried cocoyam (achichaijoko) and breadfruit (ukwa). The nutrient composition and amino acid profile of disheswere evaluated and compared using ion exchange chromatography.Amongst the seventeen amino acids investigated in the dishes, glutamic acid was highest (ranging from 10.75g/100g-14.53g/100g) while tryptophan was lowest (ranging from 0.77g/100g and 1.08g/100g) on a dry weight basis. The crude protein value was obtained to be between 5.74g/100g and 16.02g/100g with ofeakwu and achichaijoko having the lowest and highest values respectively. The highest vitamin concentration was vitamin C (8.64g/100g-14.81mg/100g) and phosphorus (6.06mg/100g -9.63mg/100g). This shows that the soups are rich in different groups of amino acids and good sources of quality protein and amino acids. Henceforward, indigenous food consumption should be encouraged for both nutritional and amino acid benefits.