Determination of Essential Mineral Content of Maize (Zea mays L.) Produced and Stocked from Rural Conditions in Côte d’Ivoire

Aims: Maize (Zea mays) is a staple food in the traditional diet of rural populations in Cote d'Ivoire. It is a good source of nutrients. However, sometimes inefficient storage methods hamper its quality. It’s in this context that this study was conducted to assess the essential mineral content of maize produced and stored in five regions of Côte d’Ivoire.

Study Design: A total of 1500 samples of maize as grains, epis and spathes were collected at rate of 500 samples by region (Gbêkê, Poro, Hambol, Indénié-Djuablin and Gontougo) and sent to the laboratory in order to analyse their mineral’s composition.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out during March 2016 to January 2017. The collected samples were carried out at the Biochemistry and Food Sciences Laboratory of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Abidjan.

Methodology: The determination of minerals was carried out using the energy dispersive spectrophotometry method.

Results: The results show a significant difference (P<0.001) between mineral contents of the different maize forms and regions. The average values are between: K (289.99±28.98-324±4.07 mg/100 g), P (256.98±28.99-302.1±3.10 mg/100 g), Na (46.08±15.08-63.87±4.09 mg/100 g), Ca (40.08±26.97 to 51.20±3.89 mg/100 g), Mg (100.78±4.89-111±2.08 mg/100 g) for macroelements and Fe (3.08±3.00-5.02±1.08 mg/100 g), Zn (3.78±3.00-5.20±0.47 mg/100 g), Cu (1.00±0.60-1.42±0.02 mg/100 g), Mn (0.68±0.52-1.01±0.03 mg/100 g), Se (0.05±0.01-0.25±0.04 mg/100 g) for oligoelements.

Conclusion: Maize grains have the highest contents of mineral element from overall samples except for selenium (Se). Oppositely, samples from Indénié-Djuablin and Gontougo regions showed lowest concentrations. Therefore, mineral content of maize sampled seems to be related to post-harvest treatments (drying), type of storage (grains, epis and spathes) and storage structure.