PROXIMATE COMPOSITION, MINERAL ANALYSIS AND PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF SOME SELECTED LEAFY VEGETABLE (BITTER LEAF, FLUTED PUMPKIN AND JUTE LEAF).

Poultry refers to all kinds of birds of economic value to man which are kept for the purpose of collecting their eggs, killing for meat, feathers or birds which include (mostly) chickens, pigeons, quails, turkeys, ducks, guinea fowl and recently ostrich and pheasants (FAO, 2013). Poultry farming contributes significantly to poverty alleviation by providing employment opportunities to several categories of Nigerians. There are direct and indirect jobs connected to poultry production such as feed industries, storage and marketing of eggs, slaughtering industries, food processing industries, meat conservation industries, industries producing machines and technical tools necessary for poultry production and so on, improvement of food security and gross domestic product (Grepay, 2009; Emokoro and Erhabor, 2014). There is a general consensus that intensification of production of meat and eggs derived from prolific animals like poultry birds are crucial to meeting animal protein requirement since they provide an excellent source of critically important amino acids, together with minerals and vitamins (Scanes, 2007; Heise et al, 2015; Yusuf et al, 2016).

Egg consumption has decreased in some parts of the world in the last decades. However, the value of eggs as human food has increased. Moreover, there has been an increasing effort to improve its nutritional value lately Akhatar et al. (2013). The egg has not been conceived by the hen to be fed to human beings, but its objective of supporting the embryo development for three weeks, makes it a good supply of the three main nutritional requirements: energy, protein and essential accessory factors (vitamins, carotenoids, minerals and certain fatty acids and amino acids) S and Cooper, (2014). According to the World Health Organization the protein in egg has the highest true digestibility of major foods, and its nutritive value is also high because it contains the essential amino acids in the required proportions (Will & Green-Field, 1984).

The egg has also been described as a low energy source of equilibrated proteins and easily digested fats. It represents an important source of phosphorus (together with milk, it is the richest food in available phosphorus), iron and vitamins; however it is deficient in glucides, calcium and vitamin C. Although one third of the egg yolk is lipids, the egg as a whole is considered to be a low-calorie source of other nutrients. Moreover, from egg yolk lipids, just 1/3 are saturated fatty acids and eggs are rich in linolenic acid, essential in human nutrition. The lipids are present in the yolk in an emulsified form that favours their almost completely digestion by man (94-96%). They can also be enriched in fatty acids, thus helping in preventing atherosclerosis (Bang & Dyerberg, 1973). 

The egg content of vitamins can be modified by diet supplementation, the response varying depending on the vitamin: very high response can be obtained with the lip soluble vitamins A and D, CIHEAM - Options Mediterranean’s good response is obtained with riboflavin and vitamin j2, and moderate response with other vitamins from B group (biotin; folk acid; pantothenic acid). Carotenoids can also be easily increased in the egg yolk with higher dosages in the diet; however, there is an interaction between carotenoids and several vitamins: if the carotenoid level in the diet is high, there is a reduction in the deposition of vitamin A and certain vitamins in the yolk; the reverse is also true: high levels of vitamin A interfere with carotenoid absorption (Byrdwell, 2009). 

Over the past four decades, global egg production has grown 20.32%, due to a rapidly increasing demand for proteins in the developing world (Windhorst, 2007). Food and Agriculture Organization (2009) estimated poultry population in Nigeria to be about 33 million. With the ever growing population and improvement in the living standard of Nigerians, the demand for egg and other poultry products will continue to grow. As this increase continues, the quality of food stuff produced by poultry and other agricultural animals becomes increasingly important with growing consumer awareness for healthy aspect of food which includes not only pathogens or trace of contaminations but also the compositions and nutritional values of the products (Fisinin et al., 2008).

Also, poultry eggs are considered as one of the most preferred poultry products because they are principal food for human consumption practically for the children and elderly, it is delicious, easy to digest, and contains most of the nutrients needed by human based on recommended daily allowance. It is found on breakfast and dinner tables and is used for enrichment of other human foods (Vila, 1999). High nutritive value, better digestibility, low cost and ready availability are some of the reasons for its preference and as such the common and most favoured dietary source of protein for low income households, who often times are unable to afford more expensive protein sources ( Emmanuel et al, 2011).

The avian egg is an important source of nutrients, containing all of the proteins, lipids, vitamins, minerals, and growth factors required by the developing embryo, as well as a number of defense factors to protect against bacterial and viral infection (Nowaczewski, et al, 2013). Moreover, eggs contain substances with biological functions and activities, i.e. immune proteins, enzymes, etc. (Hansen,  et al, 1988 ), characterized by anti-adhesive and antioxidant properties, antimicrobial activities, immunomodulatory, anticancer, and antihypertensive activities, protease inhibitors, nutrient bioavailability, and functional lipids, highlighting the importance of egg and egg components in human health and in disease prevention and treatment (Phillips and  Mine, 2005). 

The most commonly used avian eggs are those from the exotic chickens and the demand for animal protein is greatly increasing due to the increase population and malnutrition call by poverty and migration. Therefore in this research we pay more attention on finding out the proximate composition of other poultry eggs which can substitute and compute with the chicken egg. 

The aim was achieved through the following objectives;

The importance of the research work is to make comparative analysis of some selected avian egg, proximate and mineral analysis of the eggs, provide information on some selected avian egg type that are important to health and nutritional analysis. 

This research will be conducted within Kano metropolis and the research would be carried out on some selected avian egg type namely Turkey, Guinea Fowl, Duck and Chicken eggplant.