DETERMINATION OF MINERAL NUTRIENTS IN SOME LEAFY VEGETABLES

Leafy green vegetables are variable in botanical origin and minerals content and other functional properties. Many fresh herbs are harvested as soft or semi-woody leafy stems (basil, tarragon and savory) and others are harvested as developing leaves (leek) or intact plants (parsley). They are a valuable source of minerals (iron and calcium), vitamins (A, C, K and Riboflavin) and cellulose. For example, parsley has the highest calcium, iron and folate contents of all vegetables. Green leafy vegetables are generally low in calories. Their nutritional advantage is that they offer a high concentration of macro- and micronutrients for low contents of calories and fat. In this experiment six green leafy vegetables were selected as follows: Iranian leek (Allium sp.), parsley (Petroselinum crispum), Green Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum), Violet Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum), Tarragon (Artemisia dracunulus) and Savory (Satureia hortensis) that are used in three meals in Iran. These leafy vegetables have been analyzed for the macronutrients (K, Ca, Mg and Na) and micronutrients (Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) contents. The results showed that the amount of macro- and micronutrients are noticeable especially Ca, Mg, Fe and Cu in most of the selected herbs. The highest Fe was found in leek and savory and the tarragon was rich in Cu. Leek is rich also in potassium content and the amounts of calcium and magnesium are nearly the same in all leafy vegetables, although Mg was higher in tarragon, leek and basil. These results provide important data on macro- and micronutrients of selected leafy vegetables, emphasizing that these herbs can be a good source of minerals in the daily diet.