DETERMINATION OF SOME ANTI-NUTRITIONAL FACTORS IN LANDOLPHIA OWEREINSIS (WHITE VINE RUBBER)

 

Plant-derived substances have recently garnered significant attention due to their wide-ranging applications. Medicinal plants are particularly valuable as a bio-resource for traditional and modern medicines, nutraceuticals, food supplements, folk remedies, pharmaceutical intermediates, and chemical compounds used in synthetic drugs (Gilani et al., 2005). Throughout history, natural products derived from plants have remained a crucial source of preventive and curative remedies. Consequently, a substantial portion of the population still relies on medicinal plants for their preventive and curative properties. The World Health Organization recognizes that traditional medicines, including herbal medicine, have been and continue to be utilized in various capacities across all countries. In many developing nations, 70-95% of the population depends on these traditional medicines for primary healthcare (Akintola et al., 1998).

Antinutrients are substances that binds enzymes or nutrients and inhibit the absorption of the nutrient. (Osagie, A.U. et al., 1996). Unlike animals having the luxury of teeth, claws and legs to help them get out of tight spot, plants spend their lives in one place and have evolved to rely upon elaborate chemical defenses to- ward off unwanted predators. For this reason, plants have in their arsenal an amazing array of thousands of chemical noxious or toxic to bacteria, fungi, insect, herbivores, and yes, even humans. Fortunately for us, this chemical diversity also includes many compounds that are beneficial to human- vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants, anticarcinogens and many compounds with medicinal value (Hendrick, 1972).

Anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) are chemical compounds synthesized in natural food and feedstuffs through the normal metabolic processes of species. These compounds have various effects, such as inactivating certain nutrients, reducing the efficiency of digestion, or hindering the metabolic utilization of food or feed. As a result, they have a negative impact on achieving optimal nutrition (Soetan and Oyewole, 2009). Antinutritional factors are present in most food substances and can reduce the nutrient utilization or food intake of plants or plant products consumed by humans. They play an important role in determining the suitability of plants for human consumption. These substances are harmful to humans and can limit the availability of nutrients in the body. Plants develop these substances as a defense mechanism to protect themselves from being consumed. However, if the diet lacks variety, these toxins can accumulate in the body to harmful levels. Also, some anti-nutritional substances can destroy certain vitamins in food. Hence, it is a necessity to inactivate or remove these factors to maintain the nutritional value of food substances. Plants that produce energy-rich seeds, such as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, often possess potent chemical defense compounds. This is also in grain legumes, which have large and protein-rich seeds that often contain significant amounts of antinutritional factors. The presence of antinutritional factors in different food substances varies depending on the type of food, the method of cultivation, and the chemicals used in growing, storing, and preserving the food substances.

Vegetable food are tannins, peptide alkaloid, betulie, saponins, cyanide, oxalate, Some antinutritional substances that maybe found in fruit and other anthraquinones, phenolics, trypsin inhibitors, phytate, glucosides, protease inhibitors (Osagie  and Eka, 1998). Most of the antinutritional substances are only harmful when present or taken in large amount. The destruction or elimination of antinutritional substances is generally attained by adequate heating or proper processing and soaking the food material in water for several days with frequent changes of water. Normal cooking also removes most or the entire antinutrient in food (Osagie and Eka, 1998)

Antinutrients are not only harmful to the body but also beneficial to human health. Tannins have been shown to give substantial protection against cancer (including cancer of the stomach and lungs) when ingested orally (Yauclow. J. et al., 1983). Tannins and other polyphenols may also play a role in fighting tooth decay. Evidence shows that some tannins inhibit the growth of bacteria that causes tooth decay (Osagie and Eka, 1998).

The present research is focused on three parameters which are tannins, total cyanide, and free cyanide. The major human problem associated with poisonous plant is the effect they derived from this plant. Some plants products are toxic in a multitude of complex ways. Although vertebrate have evolved an array of mechanical and biological defense against this toxin, few systems of the vertebrate body are immune to damage by the toxic compound of some plant sources (Butler, 1989). The studies of the level of antinutritional factors in food stuff are therefore justifiable. 

The antinutritional factors are classified into two primary categories. The first category comprises proteins, such as lectins and protease inhibitors, which are susceptible to normal processing temperatures. The second category includes various substances that are stable or resistant to these temperatures, including polyphenolic compounds (primarily condensed tannins), non-protein amino acids, and galactomannan gums, among others. According to (Aletor, 1993), a good number of antinutritional factors are of great significance in plants used for human foods and animal feeds. These include enzyme inhibitors (trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors, plasmin inhibitors, elastase inhibitors), haemagglutinins (concanavalin A, ricin), plant enzymes (urease, lipoxygenase), cyanogenic glycosides (phaseolunatin, dhurrin, linamarin, lutaustralin), goitrogens (pro-goitrins, glucosinolates), estrogens (flavones, genistein), saponins (soya sapogenin), gossypol from Gossypium species (e.g., cotton), tannins (condensed and hydrolysable tannins), amino acid analogues (BOAA, DAP, mimosine, N-methyl-1-alanine), alkaloids (solanine, chaconine), anti-metals (phytates, oxalates), anti-vitamins (anti-vitamins A, D, E, and B12), and favism factors.

Tannin is a type of polyphenol, which has been observed to create complexes with proteins under specific pH conditions. It has been reported that these complexes, known as tannin-protein complexes, contribute to the reduction of protein digestibility, lower availability of amino acids, and an increase in fecal nitrogen. These complexes can remain intact and consequently be removed through fecal matter. Among legumes, such as pigeonpea, urdbean, and pea, the seeds of these pulses contain the highest levels of tannins (Jain et al., 2009).

Tannins are bitter and astringent substances in plants often occurring as excretions in the bark and other parts (especially leaves, fruits, and gall) (Dalziel, 1995). Tannins denote substances presents present in plant extracts which can combine with protein of animal’s hides, prevent their putrefaction and convert them into leather. By implication therefore, tannin is a substance which is detected qualitatively by a tanning test (the goldbeater’s skin test) and is determine quantitatively by its absorption on standard hide power (Butler, 1989)

Although, tannin may be an effective defense against herbivores, it is likely that their major role in evolution has been to protect plants against fungal and bacteria attack. To support this opinion, the high concentration of tannins in non-living cells of many trees (heartwood, bark) which would otherwise readily succumb to saprophyte has been cited (Swain and Goldstein, 1975)

Chemically, they are two main types of tannins

 

 Plants have been sources of cyanide poisoning in small number of cases, but the majority of poisoning in man have been turned to the accidental suicidal or homicidal ingestion of cyanide (Osagie and Eka, 1998). Cyanide is extremely toxic to higher animal, but many bacteria can oxidize it fully to carbon dioxide and ammonia whilst others man convert it to non- toxic cyanide or thiocyanide (Allen, 1974)

 The lethality of most derivative is proportional to the content of readily available cyanide. Reversible inhibitor oxidative enzyme, such as cytochrome, oxidized and deprived tissue of necessary oxygen Venous blood retains the bright red color of oxyhemoglobin because oxygen is not utilized by tissues. Brain is the organ that lack oxygen most, therefore, during cyanide poisoning; a treatment stage of central nervous system (CNS) simulation is followed by central nervous system- depression, hypoxic convulsions, and death due to respiratory arrest. Cardiac irregularities may be observed in some cases, but heartbeat invariably outlasts the breathing movement. Cyanide can produce toxic symptoms within a few and death within one hour (Reddy, N.R, et al., 1982). Prognosis is fairly good if the victim survives for one hour after poisoning. Mortality rate is high but in non- fatal cases, the recovery is complete (Reddy, N.R. et al., 1982)

This includes all forms of cyanide, both free and complexed (bound to other substances). It measures the total amount of cyanide present in a sample, including cyanide that is chemically bound to other compounds. The analysis of total cyanide is more comprehensive but also more time- consuming and complex, as it involves breaking down complexed cyanides to measure all forms of cyanide present.

This refers to the cyanide ions (CN¯) that are not bound to any other molecules. This is the most toxic form of cyanide it readily binds to enzymes in living organisms, interfering with cellular respiration and leading to acute toxicity. Free cyanide analysis is a faster method that directly measures the most toxic form of cyanide.

1.5.2 Objective                                        

The need for government to protect her citizens from medicinal leaves and feed containing high percentage of anti-nutritional substances.

 The need to increase availability safety drugs for consumption.

The desire to obtain anti-nutritional details.

Some drugs from plant sources can serve as leading compounds for synthesis of other for the treatment of diseases. It is important for scientist to evaluate medicinal plants to substantiate the claims of traditional medical practitioners (Trease and Evans, 2009) 

To bring about scientific evidence based for the consumption purpose so as to reduce the risk on the health of the consumers.