Emmanuel I Amadi*, Ben A Amadi, Felix U Igwe and Joy O Akaninwor
A study on the nutritive benefits of sludge obtained from the wastewater treatment plant to crops within the Port-Harcourt environment was investigated. The proximate composition and mineral contents were assessed in the different plantain food samples using standard methods, to know the biochemical impact of the applied sludge on their nutrient values over the control. The proximate composition calculated on a dry weight basis revealed an increase in moisture content (5.03%), crude protein (7.41%), crude fibre (3.58%), as well as a decrease in crude fat (2.31%), ash content (3.08%), carbohydrate (78.58%), and energy value (364.78 kcal/kg) for the test sample over the control (3.86%, 3.58%, 2.51%, 2.53%, 3.15%, 84.36%, and 374.57 kcal/kg) respectively. The moisture, crude fibre, protein, carbohydrate and mineral content were significantly different (p<0.05), while lipid and ash content showed no significant difference (p>0.05) when compared to their controls. The mineral analysis revealed an increase in iron (Fe) (88.87 mg/kg), potassium (K) (5930.46 mg/kg), calcium (Ca) (1783.47 mg/kg), as well as a decrease in sodium (Na) (127.69 mg/kg), phosphorus (P) (0.78 mg/kg), magnesium (Mg) (1000.33 mg/kg), and zinc (Zn) (5.93 mg/kg ) for the test sample over the control (55.29 mg/kg, 5086.40 mg/kg, 1736.66 mg/kg, 148.92 mg/kg, 1.13 mg/kg, 1072.25 mg/kg, and 11.12 mg/kg) respectively. These results revealed that the plantain food samples grown on the sludge amended soils contains appreciably high protein and mineral content and thus can be recommended as a diet for diabetic patients and in combating protein deficiency.
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