MORPHOMETRIC BIOCHEMICAL AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL DATA OF WILD PEPPER (Piper guineense; PIPERACEAE) OF THE GABONES FOREST

Gabon contains the richest and most diverse forest block in the Congo Basin. More than 50 non-timber forest products are listed. Despite this natural advantage, Gabon continues to import many forest products, including spices. The present work was initiated to study some morphometric, physicochemical and biochemical characteristics of a species of local wild pepper (Piper guineense), in order to domesticate and commercialize it. The results obtained showed that the leaves of this pepper had average leaf area of 106.71 cm2. These organs contained 87.57% moisture content, 17.13% dry matter and 3.4% crude ash. At the biochemical level, the wild pepper leaves of Gabon contain 26.04 g/ 100 g of protein DM, 21.48 g/ 100 g of total sugar DM and 244 g/ 100 g of chlorophyll Pigment FM. This plant is also rich in polyphenols (0.6 g/ 100 g DM) and ascorbic acid (3.58 g/ 100 g DM). It is not very pungent and contains only one (1) digital unit of Scoville. All these physicochemical and biochemical characteristics bring this morphotype closer to other types of pepper imported from Central America or Asia. Gabon's wild pepper can therefore be domesticated and marketed to reduce the country's food dependency.