Chemical and nutritional characterization of edible Heinsia crinita, Xylopia aethiopica, Piper guineense, Monodora myristica and Dorstenia convexa plants from Angola

Data will be made available on request.

The endemic plants from Angola, Heinsia crinita (H. critina), Xylopia aethiopica (X. aethiopica), Piper guineense (P. guineense), Monodora myristica (M. myristica), and Dorstenia convexa (D. convexa) play a significant role in traditional medicine and culinary applications. The aim of this study is to carry out a comprehensive nutritional characterization of different parts from five plants. Results showed the nutrient and elemental composition of these plants varies significantly, with the two types of roots containing abundant carbohydrates (43.48 % in D. convexa), while the seeds and pods are rich in proteins and lipids, among the highest content in M. myristica, 13.70 % and 38.07 %, respectively. The highest concentrations of essential amino acids (EAAs) were leucine, with the limiting types being methionine, cysteine and valine, among that H. crinita root had the highest EAAs (39.45 %). A total of 33 fatty acids were identified from these plants, of which oleic acid (C18:1n9) and linoleic acid (C18:2n6) were the major monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs, PUFAs), respectively, while C24:1n9 was found only in the P. guineense seeds and broken X. aethiopica pods. All plants are particularly rich in potassium (K), while zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) are the main microminerals. As for antioxidant capability, the whole X. aethiopica pods showed the best level in 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing (FRAP), while D. convexa roots contained the best performance in trolox equivalent (TEAC). In conclude, these plants can be excavated to apply in food flavors and supplement, making them to further commercialize.

Authors are grateful to MICINN for supporting the Ramón y Cajal's grant for Paz Otero (RYC 2022-036690-I), to Xunta de Galicia for supporting the program Excelencia-ED431F 2024/22 and GRC-ED431C 2022/25. Furthermore, the financial support provided by China Scholarship Council (CSC) to Pengren Zou is also gratefully acknowledged.

Funding for open access charge: Universidade de Vigo/CISUG.

Peer reviewed