Welcome to my presentation

UNLOCKING NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES OF WILD LEAFY

VEGETABLES
FOR GLOBAL FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY

MD. AL MAMUN SOMRAT

Student ID: 1807047

Supervisor Co-supervisor
Dr. S. M. Kamrul Hasan Shampa Sarkar
Professor Assistant Professor
Dept. of Food Processing and Dept. of Food Processing and
Preservation Preservation

HAJEE MOHAMMAD DANESH SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY, DINAJPUR
 Content

 Introduction

 Background of this Research

 Objectives of the Research

 Materials and Methods

 Result and Discussion

 Conclusion
 Introduction

 Wild leafy vegetables (WLVs) are non-cultivated edible plants found in forests, fallow
lands, and rural ecosystems.
 They have traditionally been used in indigenous diets, especially in Africa, Asia, and
South America (Grivetti & Ogle, 2000).
 Wild leafy vegetables contribute significantly to human nutrition and health due to
their rich profile of essential nutrients and bioactive compounds (Patra et al., 2024).
 Introduction

 Wild leafy vegetables are excellent sources of various vitamins, carbohydrates,

proteins, and dietary fiber, along with vital macro elements such as potassium (K),
calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S). Additionally, they
contain important trace elements including iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn),
zinc (Zn), sodium (Na), molybdenum (Mo), and boron (B) (Morales et al., 2022;
Tarafder et al., 2023). Beyond their nutritional value, WLVs are abundant in natural
antioxidants such as phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, ascorbic acid, betalains
(including betacyanins and betaxanthins), and chlorophyll pigments (chlorophyll a and
b), as well as beta-carotene, all of which exhibit potent free radical scavenging activity
(Sarker and Uba, 2019).
 Introduction

 Micronutrient deficiencies remain a major global health concern, especially in regions

where dietary diversity is limited (Patra et al., 2024). In many developing nations,
daily diets often fall short of providing essential vitamins and minerals. This issue is
further exacerbated by the globalization of agriculture, which has led to a growing
reliance on a limited number of staple crops, thereby reducing the overall nutritional
quality and balance of diets (Flyman et al., 2006). According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), more than two billion people worldwide suffer from deficiencies
in essential vitamins and minerals, including iodine, iron, vitamin A, and zinc (Patra et
al., 2024)
 Health benefits
of
Wild leafy
vegetables
Rich source of
essential
micronutrients

Anti_inflammatory
High in Dietary
& Anti Cancer
Fiber
activity

Health benefits of
Wild leafy vegetables

Cardiovascular
Antioxodants
protection

Antibiotic
potential
 Background of this
Research
 Afolayan, A. J., & Jimoh, F. O. (2009). Nutritional quality of some wild leafy
vegetables in South Africa. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition,
60(5), 424- 431.
 Basumatary, S., & Narzary, H. (2017). Nutritional value, phytochemicals and
antioxidant property of six wild edible plants consumed by the Bodos of North-East
India. Mediterranean Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 10(3), 259-271
 Bokelmann, W., Huyskens-Keil, S., Ferenczi, Z., & Stöber, S. (2022). The role of
indigenous vegetables to improve food and nutrition security: experiences from the
project HORTINLEA in Kenya (2014–2018). Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems,
6, 806420
 Background of this
Research
 Chinedu, S. N., Olasumbo, A. C., Eboji, O. K., Emiloju, O. C., & Arinola, O. K.
(2011). Proximate and phytochemical analysis of some medicinal plants in
Nigeria. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 10(10), 960–964.
 Flyman, M. V., & Afolayan, A. J. (2006). The suitability of wild vegetables for
alleviating human dietary deficiencies. South African Journal of Botany, 72(4),
492–497.
 Yimer, A., Forsido, S. F., Addis, G., & Ayelign, A. (2023). Phytochemical profile and
antioxidant capacity of some wild edible plants consumed in Southwest Ethiopia.
Heliyon, 9(4).
 However, This kind of research in hardly seen in Bangladesh to the best of my
 Objectives of the Research

To evaluate the nutritional composition (proximate content, vitamin C, and

mineral profile) of selected wild leafy vegetables commonly consumed in
Dinajpur, Bangladesh.
To assess the antioxidant potential of the selected vegetables through the
determination of total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC),
DPPH radical scavenging activity, and ferric reducing antioxidant power
(FRAP).
To determine the food safety and therapeutic value of the vegetables by
analyzing heavy metal contamination (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr) and evaluating their in
vitro antidiabetic activity via α-glucosidase inhibition assay.
Materials and Methods
 Materials and
Methods…….

 Sample 1 = Dheki shak (Diplazium

esculentum)
 Sample 2 = Thankuni shak (Centella
asiatica)
 Sample 3 = Kochu shak (Colocasia
esculenta)
 Sample 4 = Data shak (Amaranthus viridis)
 Sample 5 = Bothua shak (Chenopodium
album)
Wild leafy Cleaning Freeze
Grinding Storage
vegetables and cutting drying
 Materials and
Methods…….
 Extract Preparation

Wild leafy
vegetable’s
powder

Solvent Extraction Centrifugation Filtration Final Extract

 Methodology used for Proximate Analysis
 Determination of Protein Content  Determination of Fat content

The proximate composition of the wild leafy By using Soxhlet apparatus, AOAC method
vegetable’s formulations—including moisture, (2005) was used, with a few modifications, to
protein, fat, ash, and fiber content—was figure out how much fat was in the fruits
determined using standard AOAC methods
(AOAC, 2005).
Protein was measured by Kjeldahl method

Fig: Kjeldahl apparatus Fig: Soxhlet apparatus

 Methodology used for Proximate Analysis
 Determination of ash content  Determination of Moisture Content

The AOAC method (2005) was used to calculate Moisture was measured by Moisture analyzer
the total ash content by using muffle furnace.

Fig: Muffle furnace Fig: Moisture analyzer

 Methodology used for Proximate and
Physicochemical Analysis
 Determination of carbohydrate content
 Carbohydrate content was calculated by difference, subtracting the sum of
moisture, protein, fat, and ash percentages from 100.
 % Carbohydrate = 100- (% moisture content + % protein + % fat + % ash).

 Determination of fiber content

 fiber content—was determined using standard AOAC methods (AOAC, 2005).

 Methodology used for Mineral content and
Heavy metal content analysis
 Determination of Mineral Determination of Heavy Metal
contents (P, Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr)
Fe, Mn)
The concentrations of essential minerals— The concentrations of heavy metals—lead (Pb),
phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), and chromium (Cr)—
zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and were determined using Atomic Absorption
manganese (Mn)—were determined using Spectroscopy (AAS) following standard wet
Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), digestion procedures with slight modifications
following standard procedures with slight (Juli et al., 2024).
modifications (Juli et al., 2023).

Fig: Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)

 Methodology used for Bioactive
compounds and Functional properties
Determination of total flavonoid
content:
Total flavonoid content (TFC) was determined using a
colorimetric method described by Rahman et al. (2024)

Determination of total phenolic content:

The total phenolic content (TPC) of the leafy vegetable
samples was determined following the method described
by Sarkar et al. (2024)

Determination of chlorophyll content

Chlorophyll content was determined with slight
modifications following the method described by Kumar
et al. (2015). Fig: Spectrophotometer
 Methodology used for Bioactive
compounds and Functional properties

Determination of antioxidant activity Determination of anti-diabetic

(DPPH): activity
The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical The α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the leafy
scavenging activity of the leafy vegetable extracts was vegetable extracts was assessed following the
assessed following the method described by Rahman method described by Rahman et al. (2024),
et al. (2024)

Determination of Ferric Reducing Determination of vitamin C content

Antioxidant Power Vitamin C was tested using the method of Akhter et
The ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay al. (2024).
was conducted according to the method described by
Akhter et al. (2024),
 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

To
. validate the experimental results, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
was conducted for all measured parameters, considering the different samples and
their respective triplicates. Post hoc comparisons among the means were
performed using Least Significant Difference (LSD) and Duncan’s Multiple
Range Test (DMRT) to identify statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). All
statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS software (version 27; IBM Corp.,
Armonk, NY, USA). In addition, Microsoft Excel was employed for basic data
handling and preliminary calculations. For the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity
data, a two-way ANOVA was performed using Origin 2025 software (OriginLab
Corporation, Northampton, MA, USA) to assess the effects of both sample type
and concentration.
Result and
Discussion
 Result and
Discussion

Table 4.1: Proximate composition of dried wild leafy vegetables

Parameter

Sample
Moisture (%) Protein (%) Fat (%) Ash (%) Fiber (%) Carbohydrate (%)

S1 d
7.90±0.05 a
32.03±0.47 b
3.23±0.07 a
17.52±0.08 e
10.25±0.03 d
29.07±0.50

S2 a
9.20±0.11 e
15.71±0.10 c
2.76±0.04 e
11.97±0.06 a
15.75±0.04 a
44.61±0.23

S3 b
9.03±0.06 b
26.28±0.04 a
3.84±0.07 d
12.30±0.07 c
12.18±0.06 c
36.38±0.08

S4 e
6.63±0.06 c
21.83±0.31 c
2.78±0.05 c
12.50±0.07 b
12.28±0.03 b
43.98±0.32

S5 c
8.27±0.06 d
20.97±0.06 b
3.21±0.04 b
13.49±0.03 d
10.54±0.05 b
43.52±0.05

Here, S1 – Dheki Shak, S2 – Thankuni Shak, S3 – Kochu Shak, S4 – Data Shak, and S5 – Bothua Shak. a-e
Means followed by various superscripts in each column show significant differences between samples.
 Result and
Discussion

Table 4.2: Mineral content of dried wild leafy vegetables

Parameter

Sample Phosphorus (P) Calcium (Ca) (mg/kg Magnesium (Mg) Copper (Cu) Zinc (Zn) Iron (Fe) (mg/kg Manganese (Mn)
(mg/kg DM) DM) (mg/kg DM) (mg/kg DM) (mg/kg DM) DM) (mg/kg DM)

S1 b
2572.48±0.04 d
33852.33±8.74 b
12075.00±3.00 e
36.74±0.08 115.33±2.52
c c
754.53±0.09 e
57.37±0.07

S2 e
394.74±1.64 c
34678.67±9.07 c
11915.00±3.00 c
91.27±0.06 b
163.78±0.26 b
1086.73±0.21 d
240.50±0.03

S3 d
887.73±0.78 b
35028.67±11.72 d
10730.33±5.51 b
119.23±0.12 e
71.18±0.20 e
332.77±0.23 b
456.53±0.12

S4 a
2949.67±2.52 e
33316.00±15.10 e
10016.67±9.07 d
67.70±0.56 a
269.31±0.29 a
1359.82±0.54 a
995.88±0.05

S5 2192.48±0.10
c a
43133.33±5.69 a
15402.00±2.00 a
219.63±0.13 d
109.39±0.42 d
533.82±0.06 c
277.49±0.10

Here, S1 – Dheki Shak, S2 – Thankuni Shak, S3 – Kochu Shak, S4 – Data Shak, and S5 – Bothua Shak. a-e
Means followed by various superscripts in each column show significant differences between samples.
 Result and
Discussion

Table 4.3: Heavy metal content of dried wild leafy vegetables

Parameter

Sample
Lead (Pb) (mg/kg DM) Cadmium (Cd) (mg/kg DM) Nickel (Ni) (mg/kg DM) Chromium (Cr) (mg/kg DM)

b
1.48±0.10 d
6.59±0.02 b
31.58±0.05
S1 4.13±0.07
c
0.89±0.06 c
9.34±0.06 e
9.29±0.03
S2 ND

ND e
0.33±0.04 a
10.31±0.04 d
17.30±0.26
S3

ND a
1.71±0.07 b
10.16±0.14 c
28.25±0.06
S4

ND d
0.70±0.03 ab
10.28±0.03 a
38.10±0.11
S5

Here, S1 – Dheki Shak, S2 – Thankuni Shak, S3 – Kochu Shak, S4 – Data Shak, and S5 – Bothua Shak. a-e
Means followed by various superscripts in each column show significant differences between samples.
 Result and
Discussion
45.00 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 a

40.00

Chlorophyll Content (µg/ ml)

35.00 b
a
c
30.00 b d

25.00

20.00 c
a
15.00 d e

b b
10.00 e
c c
5.00

0.00
Chlorophyll a Chlorophyll b Total Chlorophyll

Figure 4.1: Chlorophyll content of dried wild leafy

vegetables.
Here, S1 – Dheki Shak, S2 – Thankuni Shak, S3 – Kochu Shak, S4 – Data Shak,
and S5 – Bothua Shak. a-e Means followed by various superscripts show
significant differences between samples.
 Result and
Discussion
6.00 a

Vitamin C (mM AA/100g DM)

5.00

b
4.00

3.00
c

c
2.00 c

1.00

0.00
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5

Sample

Figure 4.1: Vitamin C content of dried wild leafy

vegetables.
Here, S1 – Dheki Shak, S2 – Thankuni Shak, S3 – Kochu Shak, S4 – Data Shak,
and S5 – Bothua Shak. a-c Means followed by various superscripts show
significant differences between samples.
 Result and
Discussion
45.00 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 a

40.00

Chlorophyll Content (µg/ ml)

35.00 b
a
c
30.00 b d

25.00

20.00 c
a
15.00 d e

b b
10.00 e
c c
5.00

0.00
Chlorophyll a Chlorophyll b Total Chlorophyll

Figure 4.2: Chlorophyll content of dried wild leafy

vegetables.
Here, S1 – Dheki Shak, S2 – Thankuni Shak, S3 – Kochu Shak, S4 – Data Shak,
and S5 – Bothua Shak. a-e Means followed by various superscripts show
significant differences between samples.
 Result and
Discussion
35.00
a

TPC (µg GAE/gm DM) 30.00

25.00

b b
20.00

15.00
c

10.00

5.00 d

0.00
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5

Sample

Figure 4.3: Total Phenolic Content of Dried Wild Leafy

Vegetables.
Here, S1 – Dheki Shak, S2 – Thankuni Shak, S3 – Kochu Shak, S4 – Data Shak,
and S5 – Bothua Shak. a-d Means followed by various superscripts show
significant differences between samples.
 Result and
Discussion
25.00 a

20.00
b
TFC (µg QE/g DM)

15.00

c
c
10.00
c

5.00

0.00
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5

Sample

Figure 4.4: Total Flavonoid Content of Wild Leafy

Vegetables.
Here, S1 – Dheki Shak, S2 – Thankuni Shak, S3 – Kochu Shak, S4 – Data Shak,
and S5 – Bothua Shak. a-c Means followed by various superscripts show
significant differences between samples.
 Result and
Discussion

A B

Figure 4.5: DPPH assay (A) and FRAP assay (B) of Wild
Leafy Vegetables.
Here, S1 – Dheki Shak, S2 – Thankuni Shak, S3 – Kochu Shak, S4 – Data Shak,
and S5 – Bothua Shak. a-d Means followed by various superscripts show
significant differences between samples.
 Result and
Discussion
3.000

Anti-diabetic activity (µM Acarbose/g DM)

10 20 30 50 100 200

2.500 a

2.000

1.500
b
c
d
1.000 e e
f
g
h
j i
0.500 j j
k k
l
m m
n
s rs rs qrs
op pqr op no rs opq
op
0.000
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5
Sample

Figure 4.6: α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity of Wild

Leafy Vegetables.
Here, S1 – Dheki Shak, S2 – Thankuni Shak, S3 – Kochu Shak, S4 – Data Shak,
and S5 – Bothua Shak. a-s Means followed by various superscripts show
significant differences between samples.
 Conclus
ion
 Dheki shak (S1) had the highest protein and ash, while Data shak (S4) and Bothua shak
(S5) were rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus.
 S1 showed the highest total phenolics, S5 the highest flavonoids. All showed strong
antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP), especially S1, S4, and S5
 S4 and S5 exhibited strong α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, suggesting potential for
managing blood sugar and preventing type 2 diabetes
 Unsafe levels of lead were found in S1 and cadmium in all samples, highlighting
serious food safety concerns.
 These Wild Leafy vegetables are valuable sources of bioactive compounds and could
be used as natural, low-cost dietary interventions.
 Future studies should explore seasonal variation, nutrient bioavailability, and in vivo
health effects to support safe dietary use.