CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Pterocarpus mildbreadii are trees with edible parts successfully budded, pterocarpus species (P.Soyauxii and P. mildbeadii are reported to have different patterns of leaf flush, one spontanous and the other intermitted making the first suitable for commercial production and the second the home production (Okafor 1978). Pterocarpus mildbreadii being the major case study both the vegetable and the seeds.

The vegetable is majorly used in our various home for cooking. Pterocarpus mildbreadii (Oha seed) are not consumed by the people from the eastern part of Nigeria. So it cannot be majorly stated the content of this oha seed.

The demand for vegetable oils as a result of diminishing source of oils and fats creates the needs for new sources as well as exploiting sources that are currently unexploited in order to supplement the existing ones (Minzangi et al. 2011).

As industrialists continues to rely mostly on the popular vegetable oil like coconut oil, soyabeans oil, ground nut oil, palm oil etc. for the preparation and production of their various products.

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Plant lipids also posses nutritive value and have an impact on human nutrition and the world economy.more than three quarters of the edible and industrial oils marketed annually are derived from seed and fruit triglycerol (Schimid & Ohlrogge, 2002). Seeds have nutritive and calorific value which makes them necessary in diets. They are good sources of edible oils and fats. The amount of energy provide by 1g of fat and oil when fully digested is more than twice as many joules of protein and carbohydrate do. Fats makes meals more satisfying, enrich its flavor and delay the unset of hunger (Odoemelan, 2005). Unfortunately, insufficient availability of animal protein and the costliness of available plant protein sources have also increased the need for research on revealing lesser known under-utilized legumes and oil seeds of nutritive value (Schimid & Ohlrogge, 2002).