Determination and Evaluation of the Mineral Composition of Obi (Cola acuminate)

Abstract

The obi (Cola acuminate) is a native fruit from Africa, which has been mainly used in the production of soft drinks and also in rituals of African religions. In this paper, the mineral composition of obi collected in seven different cities from Bahia State, Brazil was determined and evaluated using multivariate analysis. The samples were digested using nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide and were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The accuracy of the method was confirmed by analysis of a certified reference material of apple leaves, furnished by National Institute of Standard and Technology. The study involved 46 samples, being 18 of the red specie and 28 for the white specie. The results expressed as milligrams of element per 100 g−1 of sample demonstrated that the concentration ranges varied of 21.28–548.77 for potassium, 15.73–129.85 for phosphorous, 27.95–286.92 for calcium, 7.67–134.45 for magnesium, 0.05–1.41 for manganese, 0.21–0.94 for iron, 0.11–0.39 for copper, 0.27–1.35 for zinc, and 0.025–0.517 for strontium. The principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis evidenced that the mineral composition of the red specie is different of the white specie. The red obi has mineral content higher than white obi.