Antinutrients, Mineral and Bioavailability Prediction of Calcium and Iron in Eggplant Fruit ( Solanum spp.) Varieties Consumed in Côte d’Ivoire

Eggplant is one of the most commonly consumed vegetables in Cote d’Ivoire. For this purpose, the mineral bioavailability and antinutrient constituents of eggplant varieties (Niguema, N’drowa, Aliona, Bello, Kotobi, Italy, Tiger, Kalenda and Gnangnan) were evaluated by standard procedures. The antinutrient composition in dry weight basis was significantly (P < 0.05) varied and ranged: oxalate 311.32-129.53 mg/100 g, tannin 370.14-100.98 mg/100 g, flavonoid 47.35-15.82 mg/100 g, and phytate 143.30-41.78 mg/100 g. Gnangnan had the highest tannin content, Italy had the highest content in flavonoid, while, Tiger presented the highest content in both oxalate and phytate. The results also revealed that eggplant fruits contain some percentage of minerals as follow: Mg (93.90-35.84 mg/100 g), P (19.33-11.70 mg/100 g), Fe (5.37-1.15 mg/100 g), Ca (32.26-13.70 mg/100 g) and K (88.13-41.99 mg/100 g). The calculated molar ratio of phytate/Ca was below the critical value excepted Italy molar ratio, while those of phytate/Fe and oxalate/Ca were above the critical value and this indicate the unavailable of calcium and iron in these studied eggplant varieties. However, this tendency may be reversed if boiling or cooking processes are applied. In view of these results, eggplant antinutritional factors, because of their antioxidant activity being able to have an anti-cancerous property, some authors would recommend to limit their degradation during the technological processes.