Determination of Proximate Composition, Ascorbic Acid and Heavy Metal Content of African Walnut (Tetracarpidium conophorum)

The proximate composition, ascorbic acid and heavy metal content of (African walnut) Tetracarpidium conophorum were evaluated using chemical analysis. The result of the proximate composition showed the following; moisture (48.70%), carbohydrate (53.20%), crude protein (35.22%), crude fat (6.21%), crude fiber (3.34%) and ash (2.03%).It also contained 53.50mg/100ml of ascorbic acid. The heavy metal concentrations in the fruit is Fe (0.064ppm), Mn (0.012ppm), Cr (0.001ppm), Ni (0.005ppm) while the concentrations of Hg, Pb and Cd were not detected. The results revealed that the T. conophorum is rich in ascorbic acid and carbohydrate with moderate valves of crude protein while the ash content was shown to be very low. This result shows that T. conophorum nut is not polluted with heavy metals since the concentrations of the heavy metals were all below WHO permissible limits. This nut is therefore shown to be safe for public consumption.