International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition

Authors
Abubakar US, Yusuf KM, Safiyanu I, Abdullahi S, Saidu SR, Abdu GT, Indee AM

Abstract
This study was conducted in order to determine the proximate and mineral composition of three agrowaste materials (corn cob, banana and plantain peels) as possible sources of nutrients in formulating animal feeds. The proximate composition was determined using the standard methods of analysis of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC), while Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometre (AAS) and Flame Photometre were used to determine the mineral composition. The results showed that Plantain peel had the highest lipid content (37.53 ± 0.08%) and protein content (5.79 ± 0.04%), while banana peel had the highest ash content (9.83 ± 0.06%) and moisture content (13.49 ± 0.17%) (P<0.05). On the other hand, corn cob had the highest carbohydrate content (48.56 ± 0.14%) and crude fibre content (33.33 ± 021%). For the mineral composition, plantain peel had the highest amount of most of the minerals analyzed (Ca, Mg, K, P, Zn, Fe, Na, Cu, Cr, Pb, Ni and Mn) (P<0.05). Banana and plantain peels can serve as good sources of nutrients in animal feeds preparation, as they are high in lipid, protein, ash and essential minerals content. This will result in dual benefits of their use as animal feeds and proper waste management strategy.