Journal of International Research in Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Vegetables and fruits help prevent both acute and long-term illnesses. Dialium guineense, commonly referred to as "African black velvet tamarind," is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa and is still regarded by the locals as a nutritious and health-promoting fruit and meal. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the mineral and vitamins composition of the fruit pulp and seed of Dialium guineense. Heavy metal analysis was conducted using Agilent FS240AA Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Vitamin analysis was conducted using standard diagnostic methods. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software version 27. The pulp showed higher levels of minerals such as potassium (8.05 ± 0.00 ppm), magnesium (6.98 ± 0.00 ppm) and calcium (9.34 ± 0.00 ppm) when compared to the seed (6.78 ± 0.00 ppm), (6.17 ± 0.00 ppm), and (8.57 ± 0.00 ppm) respectively. This difference was not statistically (p<0.05) significant. Also, the seed showed higher level of sodium (10.45 ± 0.00 ppm) when compared with the pulp (9.57 ± 0.00 ppm). However, from the vitamin analysis, the pulp contains higher levels of vitamin D (14. 11 ± 0.00 mg/kg), vitamin B₆ (23.84 ± 0.00 mg/kg, vitamin E (6.36 ± 0.00 mg/kg), Vitamin B₁₂ (8.65 ± 0.00 mg/kg) and vitamin B₃ (6.10 ± 0.00 mg/kg) when compared to the seed (3.72 ± 0.00 mg/kg), (22.62 ± 0.00 mg/kg), (4.54 ± 0.00 mg/kg), (6.45 ± 0.00 mg/kg) and (5.37 ± 0.00 mg/kg) respectively. The seed contains higher levels of vitamin A (36.75 ± 0.00 mg/kg) and vitamin C (68.13 ± 0.00 mg/kg) when compared to the pulp (34.45 ± 0.00 mg/kg) and (65.91 ± 0.00 mg/kg) respectively. The vitamin A content of the seed was significantly (p<0.05) higher compared to the pulp. These results suggest that both the pulp and seed of Dialium guineense contain adequate minerals and vitamins that have nutritional relevance and should be considered as a reliable source of important minerals and vitamins.