Evaluation Of Nutritional Value Of Wild Rice From Kaduna State, Central Nigeria

Wildrice samples obtained from Kaduna state, Nigeria were analysed for proximate, mineral and vitamin composition. The results of the proximate composition shows the moisture content of wild rice to be 8.66%; ash content 1.25 %, lipids content 0.67%, protein 13.80%; crude fiber is 0.67% and carbohydrate content to be 74.95%.The elemental analysis was carried out using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) and the results show that wild rice possessed high content of potassium and has low content of nickel. The vitamin contents of wild rice were also determined and the results show that it contains thiamin, riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3) with the following value 4.10mg/kg, 5.90 mg/kg and 57.00 mg/kg respectively. The antinutritional factors of the wildrice sample were also determined and the results are as follows; cyanogenic glycosides 4.10%, phytic acid 1.17%, oxalate 1.25%, saponins 7.90% and taninn 0.34%. The protein content of wildrice is relatively high for a cereal. Wild rice is a good source of the B vitamins – thiamin, riboflavin and niacin and contains common minerals in amounts comparable to those in other cereals. The values obtained for antinutritional factors for the wildrice sample are quite low and therefore can be tolerated by the body.