ISSN 2449-8955 European Journal of Biological Research Research Article European Journal of Biological Research 2016; 6 (2): 112-118 Nutritive values of some edible forest tree seeds in Makurdi-Benue, Nigeria J. H. Dau¹, E. D. Kuje², S. A. Dawaki³ 1 Department of Forest Production and Products, College of Forestry and Fisheries, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria 2 Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Faculty of Agriculture Lafia, Nasarawa State University, Nasarawa State, Nigeria 3 Department of Forestry Technology, Audu Bako College of Agriculture, Dambatta, Kano State, Nigeria *Corresponding author: J. H. Dau; Phone: 08068347777; 08029153959; E-mail: daujaphson@gmail.com ABSTRACT The seeds of Adansonia digitata, Afzelia africana, Moringa oleifera, Prosopis africana and Terminalia catappa in Makurdi, Nigeria were analyzed in water-soluble forms to determine their minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, magnesium and iodine) and vitamin (A, C and E) compositions in order to investigate the possible of using seeds for human consumption due to malnutrition in Nigeria. Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and Titration Method showed that the seeds were good source of minerals. Potassium (7233.50 ± 3.50 mg/100 g) was the highest from Terminalia catappa seed with the lowest (502.00 ± 1.00 mg/100 g) in Moringa oleifera seed; calcium (789.61 ± 0.01 mg/100 g) in Terminalia catappa seeds while 81.08 ± 0.05 mg/100 g was the lowest from Adansonia digitata seeds; magnesium (687.58 ± 0.01 mg/100 g) as the highest in Terminalia catappa seed while 3.59 ± 0.01 as the lowest in Afzelia africana seed and iron was determined with the highest content of 422.00 ± 1.00 mg/100 g in Terminalia catappa seeds while 3.49 ± 0.03 as the lowest in Afzelia africana seeds. Vitamin A and C evaluated from the seeds were found to be higher in Adansonia digitata seeds while Prosopis africana and Terminalia catappa seeds were low; vitamin E was high (2801.50 ± 1.50 mg/100 g) in Moringa oleifera seeds while Afzelia africana seeds contain the lowest vitamin with 0.74 ± 0.01 mg/100 g. The seeds are very good sources of mineral and vitamin nutrients for human body as useful dietary supplements and good health. There is the need to assess the available of the tree seeds and possible present of anti-nutrients. Keywords: Dietary; Edible, Forest; Mineral; Vitamin; Seed. 1. INTRODUCTION The negative effects of malnutrition in the developing countries (Nigeria) cannot be over emphasized; this consequence is mostly found in the rural communities and among the poor people dwelling in Urban, cities or towns. This can be attributed to mere ignorance of food trees around them. In the rural communities in Nigeria (Africa), most traditional diets often lack variety and consist of mainly staple foods with small amounts of other foods depending on season and availability; the staple foods provide the calories but are poor in Received: 13 February 2016; Revised submission: 12 April 2016; Accepted: 29 April 2016 Copyright: © The Author(s) 2016. European Journal of Biological Research © T.M.Karpiński 2016. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.