Inorganic and Phytochemical Content Analysis of the Wild Abyssinian Thyme Spice

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate selected inorganic, anti-nutritional factor and pro-vitamin “A” contents of the aromatic spices of the wild Abyssinian thyme aerial parts. Different aerial parts of the plant were considered for the experiments. The mineral content, anti-nutritional and pro-vitamin”A” value of the plant parts was analyzed using AOAC (2000). Mineral contents such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), copper (Cu) and magnesium (Mg) were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and Condensed tannin, total phenolic content, carotenoids, beta carotene and retinol equivalent vit “A” were determined by UV/vis Spectrophotometer and  the data were analyzed by SAS software version 9.1. The results revealed that Abyssinian thyme herb aerial parts (F, L & W) contained Zinc (9.19, 9.01 and 8.36 mg/100 g); Iron (0.022, 0.0022 and 0.012 mg/100 g), copper (0.038, 0.054 and 0.045 mg/100 g), Magnesium (2.47, 2.32 and 2.1 mg/g ) and Calcium (392, 379.5, and 355.3 mg/g), respectively.  They contained condensed tannin (0.2, 0.4 and 0.9 µg/mL), total phenolic content (0.5, 0.2 and 0.3 µg/mL) of anti-nutritional factors, respectively. Furthermore, they contained carotenoids (59.6, 68.7 and 63.0 IU), beta carotene (119.5, 137 and 126.7 IU) and retinol equivalent (239.5, 274.8 and 252 IU) of pro-vit “A”, respectively. Among the minerals in Abyssinian thyme herb aerial parts calcium is the highest in the flower part and the lowest was in the whole thyme aerial parts, the least of the five minerals is the iron and copper. None  of the mineral contents were highest for the whole plant. From the wild Abyssinian thyme aerial parts the  flower had highest total phenolic content and the leaf had the lowest and data shows that the whole thyme plant had the highest condensed tannin content from the three aerial parts wild Abyssinian thyme spice.

Keywords: zinc, Thyme, Iron, condensed tannin, Carotenoids