Background: Presently, in Nigeria, the incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, cancer and obesity has been on the increase, when compared to the past. This may be due to several factors like lifestyle, greater consumption of processed foods and drinks, and change in diet particularly in the methods of their preparation. This rise has presented a critical need to find a way to their treatment and management using diet. Many plants around us are medicinal, and the medicinal values of plants lie in the chemical substances that are present in them which produce definite physiological effects in human system. These bioactive compounds, with nutrients and dietary fibre from plants protect the body against diseases. Telfairia occidentalis leaves have a lot of nutritive value. This made the leaves and tender stems potentially useful as food supplements. Cooking has a significant effect on the chemical compositions such as bioactive components, antioxidant activities, and the effect can be either positive or negative depending on the cooking methods used. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of different cooking methods (boiling, steaming and microwaving) on the bioactive components, and in vitro antioxidant activity of Telfairia occidentalis leaves using spectrophotometric methods.

bioactive, phytochemicals, Telfairia occidentalis, steaming, microwaving, boiling, antioxidants.

Received: December 1, 2022; Accepted: January 24, 2023; Published: March 22, 2023

How to cite this article: Linda Nnenna Adobeze and Anthonia Ukamaka Adobeze, Bioactive component of Ugu (Telfairia occidentalis) leaves as affected by home preparation methods, International Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics 9 (2023), 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.17654/2347527723001

This Open Access Article is Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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