Vitamin Profile of Some Standardized Nigerian Composite Dishes

The purpose of the study was to determine the vitamin content of twenty standardized dishes commonly consumed in Nigeria. Representative samples of twenty Nigerian dishes were analyzed for fat-soluble (vitamins A, D, E, and K) and water-soluble (vitamin C and B- complexes) vitamins. The foods analyzed included those based on cereals, starchy tubers and roots, legumes, and vegetables. The analysis was carried out using spectrophotometry. The results revealed the following concentrations (mg/100 g): vitamin C, undetectable to 2.692 mg/100 g; thiamine, 0.011-1.094 mg/100 g; riboflavin, 0.011-0.816 mg/100 g; pyridoxine, undetectable to 0.412 mg/100 g; niacin, 0.070-0.967 mg/100 g; pantothenic acid, 0.060-1.193 mg/100 g; biotin, undetectable to 2.092 mg/100 g; B12, 0.045-2.424 mu g/100 g; folate, 7.822-101.764 mu g/100 g; total vitamin A, undetectable to 121.444 mu g RE/100 g; vitamin D, undetectable to 2.445 IU/100 g; vitamin E, undetectable to 2.627 IU/100 g; and vitamin K, 0.266-13.091 mu g/100 g. The results suggest that these dishes are good sources of fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins and will provide baseline data that will be valuable in complementing available food composition data, and in estimating dietary intake of vitamins in Nigeria.