Full Length Research Paper

Mineral content in some Cameroonian household foods eaten in Douala

Marie Modestine Kana Sop¹*, Inocent Gouado¹, Clautilde Teugwa  Mofor², Miro Smriga³ , Martin Fotso⁴ and Tetanye Ekoe⁵

¹University of Douala, Faculty of Science, PO Box 24157 Douala, Cameroon.

²University of Yaoundé I, Faculty of Science, PO Box 812 Yaoundé Cameroon.

³Ajinomoto Europe SAS, 153 rue de Courcelles, 75017 Paris, France.

⁴Center for Research in Food and Nutrition (CRAN) PO Box 6163 Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Faculty of Medecine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé Cameroon.

*Corresponding author. E-mail : kanamod@yahoo.com.

Accepted 10 March, 2008

Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies associated to emerging chronically diseases are serious public health in Cameroon. The main roots are poverty, and poor knowledge on food composition based on optimal uses of available foods to maintain nutrition security. Sixteen recipes more frequently consumed selected after nutritional survey were cooked in triplicate and their minerals (Ca, Mg, K, P, Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe) content were analysed. Dry weights varied from 11.07 ± 2.58 to 27.87 ± 4.29% fresh matter. Calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium contents expressed in mg/100 g ranged from 32 ± 0.1 to 878.33 ± 128.77, 48.67 ± 3.5 to 616.33 ± 150.0, 22 ± 3 to 142 ± 5, and 197 ± 34 to 1346.33 ± 137.41, respectively. Their zinc, copper, manganese and iron contents were between 0.49 ± 0.06 and 12.08 ± 0.83 mg/100 g, 0.12 ± 0.001 and 0.33 ± 0.02 mg/100 g, 0.05 ± 0.001 and 0.80 ± 0.001, and 1.42 ± 0.55 and 6.61 ± 2.25 mg/100 g, respectively. The recipes could adequately contribute to dietary minerals intake in most of the recipes. However majority these dishes based on cereals, tubers and legumes but poor in animal products can lead to micronutrient because of the presence of antinutritional factors that reduce minerals bioavailability.

Key words: Malnutrition, mineral contents, dishes, Douala, Cameroon.