Investigating Eggplant Fruit (Solanum spp.) Cultivated in Côte d’Ivoire for Their Physicochemical and Antioxidant Characteristics

Eggplant is one of the most commonly consumed vegetables in Cote d’Ivoire. For this purpose, the nutrient constituents of eggplant varieties (Niguema, N’drowa, Aliona, Bello, Kotobi, Italy, Tiger, Kalenda and Gnangnan) were evaluated by standard procedures. The proximate composition in dry weight basis was significantly (P < 0.05) varied and ranged: dry matter 86.72-93.29%, crude protein 9.94-22.11%, crude fat 5.07-20.43%, crude fiber 23.15-50.53%, crude ash 5.14-10.09%, carbohydrate 12.41-39.22%, and energy value 211.53-320.94 kcal/100g. Gnangnan had the highest content in fat. Kalenda had the highest protein content, N’drowa had the highest fiber content, Bello had the highest content in carbohydrate, while Tiger presented the highest content in both ash and energy values. The phenolic content ranges from 618.28 to 977.35 mg/100g while the vitamin C ranges from 92.88 to 150.59 mg/100g in dry weight basis. Italy had the highest content in phenolic while Kalenda had the highest content in vitamin C. Interrelationships between the parameters analysed and the different eggplant varieties were investigated by principal component analysis (PCA). PCA revealed differences between the eggplant varieties and classified them into three clusters on the basis of the measured parameters: Cluster 1 (Gnangnan), Cluster 2 (Niguema, N’drowa, Italy and Aliona) and Cluster 3 (Bello, Kalenda, Kotobi and Tiger) This study is a contribution to the knowledge of the nutritional composition of eggplant cultivated in Cote d’Ivoire. In view of these results, eggplant can help to reduce the nutrition-related disorders in Africa. Keywords: Eggplant, Varieties, Proximate composition, Antioxidant DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/102-07 Publication date: November 30 th 2020