Research Article Effect of Boiling on the Nutrient Composition of Solanum Torvum Janice Dwomoh Abraham , 1 Emmanuel Kwadwo Sekyere , 2 and Isaac Gyamerah 1 1 Department of Biological Sciences Education, Faculty of Science Education, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Mampong-Ashanti, Ghana 2 Department of Integrated Science Education, Faculty of Science Education, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Mampong-Ashanti, Ghana Correspondence should be addressed to Janice Dwomoh Abraham; janice_oduro@yahoo.com Received 26 November 2021; Revised 16 February 2022; Accepted 23 February 2022; Published 16 March 2022 Academic Editor: CHANDRA MOHAN CHANDRA SEKAR Copyright © 2022 Janice Dwomoh Abraham et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The fruits and leaves of Solanum torvum are good sources of nutrients and minerals for the prevention of nutrient deficiencies. However, there is limited information on the effect of boiling on the nutrients, minerals and phytochemicals in the fruits and leaves. This study sought to assess the mineral, macronutrient and phytochemical compositions of fresh and boiled fruits and leaves of S. torvum. Fresh unripe fruit and leaf samples of S. torvum were collected from six communities, boiled, and pulverized for mineral, proximate and phytochemical analyses. The data obtained was subjected to ANOVA and t-test. Solanum torvum was found to contain Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Ca, Mg, Na, K, protein, crude fat, carbohydrate, fibre, saponins, tannins, flavanols, terpenoids/steroids and glycosides making it nutritious. The results revealed almost equal concentrations of minerals in fresh and boiled leaves and fruits. A similar observation was made in the case of carbohydrate, crude fat and ash. However, there were significant differences in moisture, protein and crude fibre concentrations in the samples. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of saponin, tannin, flavonoids, terpenoids/steroids and glycosides in all leaf samples no matter the treatment. There were no flavonoids and terpenoids/steroids in fruits. Boiling nominally reduced and in a few cases, increased concentration of the nutrient composition but did not have significant effect on the concentration of the macro- and micro- minerals in the fruits and leaves. This study suggests that boiling could affects the concentration of nutrients that could be accessed in fruits and leaves of S. torvum. 1. Introduction Nutrition is very crucial to life because it enhances metabo- lism and build the immune system of organisms including humans. Research shows that micro-minerals such as Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn are essential for the physiological function of organisms and thus deficiency of these may damage DNA, cause stunted growth, affect enzyme action, blood Hb concentration and functioning of organs such as the eye and brain [1–3]. Unfortunately, the effect of malfunc- tioning organs is only realized during the later ages of affected persons [2–4]. Phytochemicals such as saponins and glycosides are anti-cancerious and antibiotic com- pounds that help to prevent conditions such as metabolic malfunction and growth deficit [5, 6]. These chemicals are obtained mostly from plants sources. The daily diet of trop- ical African countries is often dominated by starchy staples and coarse grains which provide energy but do not support growth, metabolic functioning and immune defense of the individual [2, 7]. Indigenous vegetables such as Amaranthus cruentus, Celusia argenta and Corchorus olitorius are the cheapest and most readily available sources of proteins, vita- mins, minerals and essential amino acids for many people [8, 9]. Vegetables such as Digera arvensis, Solanum nigrum have high nutritional value [9–12]. Thus, their adequacy in a diet would help increase the supply of some nutrients that might be absent in people’s regular diet [13, 14]. In Africa, wild edible plants are used as food and hence contribute Hindawi International Journal of Food Science Volume 2022, Article ID 7539151, 11 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/7539151