Paper Title
Nutritional Composition of Methanol Extracts of Talinum Triangulare (Water Leaf) Leaves and stem Grown in Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract
The leaves and stems of Talinumtriangulare (Water leaf) is a vegetable consumed as a major part of meals and used in traditional medicinal practice for various ailments in Enugu, Nigeria. In this study the nutritional composition of Talinumtriangulare (Water leaf) leaves and stems grown and consumed in Enugu, Nigeria was investigated. The proximate and phytochemical analyses were carried out using standard methods while the mineral composition was determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The result of proximate analysis showed that the leaves and stems had a high percentage of carbohydrate (40.543±3.62%) (50.781±3.61%) and ash (22.144±0.472%) (23.480±0.470%), relatively low percentage of protein (9.45±1.61%) (13.988± 1.60%), Crude fiber (23.655±6.39%) (5.59±6.38%) and moisture (4.157± 0.694%) (6.12 ±0.69%) and very low percentage fats and oil (0.05±0.004%) (0.04±0.003%) respectively. The phyto chemical analyses indicated presence of Saponin (56.3±4.143) (68.02±4.143), flavonoids (5.163±0.53) (3.664±0.52), Alkaloids (0.606±0.155) (0.169±0.154), Tannin (4.956±1.084) (1.891±1.083), Phenol (1.630±0.167) (1.157±0.160) and Glycosides (0.881±0.037) (0.777±0.036) respectively. Mineral analyses indicated presence of Copper (0.213±0.09) (0.454±0.08), Magnesium (31.792±1.61) (36.334±1.60), Calcium (10.597±0.54) (12.111±0.53), Phosphorus (0.118±0.018) (0.067±0.01), Iron (0.052±0.002) (0.045±0.002) and Lead (0.00045±0.000007) (0.00043±0.000007) respectively. These findings indicate that Talinumtriangulare leaves and stems are good nutritious food materials and potential sources of phytomedicine and may validate its use in medicinal practice in Nigeria. Keywords - Talinumtriangulare, Proximate, Phytochemical, Mineral, Malnutrition