Comparison of the nutritive value and biological activities of the acetone, methanol and water extracts of the leaves of Bidens pilosa and Chenopodium album.

A resurgence of interest has developed in wild vegetables for their possible medicinal values in diets. Wild plant species provide minerals, fibre, vitamins and essential fatty acids and enhance taste and color in diets. For this reason, the nutritional, phytochemical, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of the acetone, methanol and water extracts of the leaves of Bidens pilosa and Chenopodium album were investigated. The proximate analysis showed that the leaves of the plants contained appreciable percentage of moisture content, ash content, crude protein, crude lipid, crude fibre and carbohydrate. Elemental analysis in mg/100 g dry weight (d.w.) indicated that the leaves contained sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, copper, manganese, and nitrogen. The chemical composition in mg/100 g d.w. showed the presence of alkaloid, saponins, and phytate. The extracts also caused DPPH radical scavenging activities which were comparable to those of ascorbic acid. This was also the same for BHT scavenging activity. With respect to the polyphenols, the extracts of these two plants also contained appreciable levels of these phytochemicals. The extracts of these plants also caused varied inhibition of the bacterial strains used in this study.