<strong>McKnight</strong> <strong>Foundation</strong> <strong>Collaborative</strong> <strong>Crop</strong>s <strong>Research</strong> Project No: 06-741 satisfy daily requirements as the quantity eaten is inadequate. In the case of the developed varieties, which are higher yielding and resistant to Alectra, they will probably be accepted by the communities and the amount per capita of cowpeas consumed should increase provided they continue to cultivate the same area of land. Conclusion Cowpea grain and leaves are widely consumed in the two surveyed areas. The contribution of micro and macro nutrients is significant for both developed lines and local varieties but with leaves having greater mineral content than grain. Therefore awareness-raising within communities to consume more cowpea leaves is required. However the amount produced per household is low compared to requirements. Consequently cowpea intake per capita is low, and does not meet the RDA. However, since households in both areas still have ample land they should be encouraged to increase the area planted as well as planting higher yielding varieties in conjunction with preferred local varieties. This does however require further market investigation. Other important nutrients such as vitamins, amino acid profile and levels of ant-nutritional factors (tannins and phytates) should also be further investigated. The vitamins and amino acids influence in nutrition while the antinutritional factors influence on the bioavailability of the nutrients in the body. Acknowlegement The authors would like to acknowledge the financial assistance from the <strong>McKnight</strong> <strong>Foundation</strong>, who facilitated successful survey and laboratory analysis of macro and micronutrients. References Agazounon, C., Coulibaly, O. and Houndekon, V. (2004) Analysis of of cowpea processing techniques into ‘atta’ in Benin. Bulletin de la recherché Agronomique du Benin. No. 46, September 2004. Ahenkora, K. Adu Dapaah, H. K. and Agyeman, A. (1998) Selected nutritional components and sensory attributes of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.]Walp) leaves Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 52: 221–229. AOAC (1995), Official methods of analysis. Association of Official Analytical Chemists methods, AOAC 16 th edition Nos. 963.13, 968.08, 970.12, 915.03, 920.87. Washington, D.C. Asante, I. K., Adu-Dapaah, H Addison (2006) Seed weight and protein and tannin contents of 32 cowpea accessions in Ghana. Journal of Tropical Science, 44 (2): 77 – 79. Barret R. P. (1990) Legume species as leafy vegetables. In: Janick J, Simon J. E. (eds), Advances in new crops. Portland, OR: Timber Press, pp 391–396. Horax, R., Hettiarachchy, N. S., and Jalaluddin M. (2004).Preparation, characterization and functional properties of protein isolate from cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) Dept. of Food Science, Univ. of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Avenue, Fayetteville, AR AR 72704, (2) Department of Agriculture, University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, AR 71611. http://ift.confex.com/ift/2004/techprogram/paper_22759.htm.Accessed 19.09.2009. Mgbemena, I. C., Opara, F, N. and Iwuala, M. O. (2006) The effect of insect pest infestation on the nutritional composition of cowpea and maize. Department of Biotechnology, Federal University of Technology PMB 1526 Owerri, Nigeria International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences 2 (2): 96-100, 2006. Mune Mune, M. A., Mbome, L. I. and Minka S. R. (2007) Improving the Nutritional Quality of Cowpea and Bambara Bean Flours for Use in Infant Feeding, Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 6 (6): 660- 664 Olaleke, A. M., Olorunfemi, O. and Akintayo, T. E. (2006) Compositional evaluation of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) varieties grown in Nigeria. International journal of food, agriculture and environment 4 (2): 39‐43. 30 2009
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