Abstract
 
Several plants are utilized for medicinal and nutritional purposes. Irvingia gabonensis O’Rorke Baill leaf is used in herbal medicine for
treatment of a number of ailments. This study was therefore carried out to investigate the proximate composition, antinutritional factors,
mineral composition and amino acid profile of Irvingia gabonensis O’Rorke Baill leaf. The proximate and antinutritional factors analyses
were  done  using  standard  procedures.  The  mineral  analyses  were  done  using  flame  photometry,  titrimetic  method,  molybdo  vanadate
method and atomic absorption spectrophotometry and the amino acid profile was done with the aid of Applied Biosystems PTH amino
acid  analyzer.  Results  of  proximate  analyses  were  carbohydrates  (75.15±1.29  %),  protein  (11.43±1.07  %),  fat  (1.99±0.74  %),  fibre
(4.89±0.61  %),  ash  (6.71±0.28  %),  moisture  (5.12±0.03  %) and  caloric  value  (364.30±5.95  Kcal).  Antinutrients  (phytate,  oxalate  and
cyanide) levels in the leaf were also very low. Results from mineral analyses obtained revealed that the leaf is also a very rich source of
calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium and so on. Compared with the World health organization (WHO) standards, results of the amino
acid profile showed that the leaf is very rich in isoleucine, leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, threonine, valine and tyrosine which are nutri-tionally essential amino acids. Furthermore, extraction of the leaf using ethanol reduced the levels of these amino acids but not below the
recommended WHO standard levels for most of the essential amino acids. Irvingia gabonensis O’Rorke Baill leaf is therefore a potential
source of key nutrients.