Abstract

Nigeria is blessed with varieties of indigenous vegetables. Many in the wild are underutilized, becoming rare, and going to extinction while cultivated vegetables are becoming expensive. There is need to pay attention to wild vegetables. The proximate, mineral, and antinutritional compositions of “Launea taraxacifolia” and “Crassocephalum rubens” were determined using standard analytical methods. The results of proximate in percentages were: moisture (10.62±0.11; 9.73±0.14), crude protein (26.94±0.56; 21.07±0.24), ash (16.47±0.7; 21.17±0.34), crude fibre (21.68±0.63; 8.65±0.03), crude fat (14.85±0.14; 10.86±0.39) and carbohydrate by difference (9.44±0.61; 28.52±0.52). The antinutrient factors present in mg/g were: tannin (3.22±0.19; 3.07±0.14), oxalate (1.53±0.07; 1.35±0.07), and phytate (0.58±0.01; 1.24±0.07). Amino acid profiles of the leaf protein concentrates of the vegetables revealed the presence of essential and non-essential amino acids in appreciable quantities. Essential mineral elements, phenolic acids, and flavonoids were also detected. The vegetables have good nutritional and chemical potential for promoting good health.