Phytochemicals of Telfairia occidentalis Leaf Grown in Urea Solutions

Background and Objective: The plant, Telfairia occidentalis Hooker fil. contains the varying composition of phytochemicals and has been grown mostly in geoponic media. The study aimed at evaluating the anti-nutrient composition of T. occidentalis leaf grown in different urea hydroponic solutions. Materials and Methods: The Urea solutions varied in the number of Urea granules (25, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 g, respectively) dissolved in water containing micronutrients and designated as M²⁵U, M⁵⁰U, M⁷⁵U, M¹⁰⁰U, M¹²⁵U, M¹⁵⁰U and control. The hydrogen cyanide, oxalate, phytate, tannin, saponin, trypsin-inhibitor, alkaloid and flavonoids contents of T. occidentalis were determined 5 weeks after planting (WAP) following standard procedures. Results: The study showed that the proportion of phytochemicals in T. occidentalis ranged thus: Phytate (4.07-16.88%), tannin (0.80-1.96%), oxalate (3.61-8.80%), trypsin-inhibitor (1.12-2.73%), saponin (6.12-8.58%) and hydrogen cyanide (0.014-0.020 ppm). Higher values of phytochemicals in the leaves were recorded at M²⁵U medium (for tannin, oxalate and trypsin-inhibitor), M¹⁰⁰U treatment (for phytate) and M¹²⁵U treatment (for saponin). The group of alkaloids ranged thus: Purine (0.225-0.988 g/100 g), colchicine (0.185-0.220 g/100 g), quinoline (0.313-0.801 g/100 g), tropane (0.217-0.295 g/100 g), vinca (0.025-0.084 g/100 g), indole/benzopyrrole (0.258-0.413 g/100 g), isoquinoline (0.468-1.054 g/100 g), pyridine (1.436-9.262 g/100 g), imidazole (0.099 - 0.212 g/100 g), piperidine (0.919-2.350 g/100 g), acridine (0.009-0.017 g/100 g) and β-phenylethylamine (0.198-0.257 g/100 g). Among the growth media, the highest total flavonoids (45.35 g/100 g) of the leaves were recorded at the M⁵⁰U medium while the lowest (21.343 g/100 g) was obtained at the M¹⁵⁰U medium. The abundant flavonoid was luteolin (7.232 g/100 g) at the M⁷⁵U medium, followed by eriodictyol (5.746 g/100 g) at the M²⁵U medium. Conclusion: The growth media with lower urea content (M²⁵U growth media) had higher tannin, oxalate, saponin, trypsin-inhibitor and T. occidentalis.