Nutritional and Phytochemical Analysis of Adansonia digitata (Baobab) Fruit Pulp and Seed from Jigawa State, North West Nigeria

Adansonia digitata, the baobab tree, is culturally significant across the drylands of Jigawa State, North West Nigeria, where its fruit pulp and seeds are consumed as food and traditional medicine for conditions ranging from fever and dysentery to anaemia and malnutrition. This study performs a comparative nutritional and phytochemical analysis of baobab fruit pulp and seed from three harvesting sites in Dutse, Hadejia, and Birnin Kudu local government areas. Standard AOAC methods were employed for proximate composition analysis including moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, ash, and carbohydrate determination. Mineral content (iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium, potassium) was quantified by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Phytochemical screening identified secondary metabolites in both tissues. The fruit pulp contained significantly higher vitamin C (312 mg/100g) and crude fibre content compared to the seed, while the seed fraction had higher crude protein (16.8%) and fat (21.3%). Both fractions contained flavonoids, tannins, and phenolic acids. Iron content in the pulp exceeded that of many commonly recommended iron-supplementation foods at 9.7 mg/100g. Phytate and oxalate concentrations, which may reduce mineral bioavailability, were within acceptable limits. These findings support the use of baobab products in community nutrition and suggest potential for nutraceutical development from Jigawa baobab resources. Keywords: Adansonia digitata, baobab, proximate analysis, Jigawa State, nutritional phytochemistry