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Lost Crops of Africa: Volume I, Grains
was devised specifically for this project, but comparable approaches could be employed equally well in Africa.*
The maize and rice values against which the African grains are compared in the bar graphs are taken from U.S. Department of Agriculture tables. The actual figures (converted to a dry-weight basis) are given below.
Component
Maize
Rice
Food energy (Kc)
408
406
Protein (g)
10.5
8.1
Carbohydrate (g)
83
90
Fat (g)
5.3
0.7
Fiber (g)
3.2
0.3
Ash (g)
1.3
0.7
Thiamin (mg)
0.43
0.08
Riboflavin (mg)
0.22
0.06
Niacin (mg)
4.1
1.8
Vitamin B6 (mg)
0.58
0.02
Folate (µg)
0.0
9.1
Pantothenic acid (mg)
0.47
1.15
Calcium (mg)
8
32
Copper (mg)
0.35
0.25
Iron (mg)
3.0
0.9
Magnesium (mg)
142
130
Manganese (mg)
0.55
1.1
Phosphorus (mg)
234
130
Potassium (mg)
320
130
Sodium (mg)
39
6
Zinc (mg)
2.5
1.2
In each of the essential-amino-acid bar graphs, the figures were compared on the basis of the amounts occurring in the protein of each grain (that is, grams per 100 grams of protein). In the other bar graphs, all nutrients were compared on a dry-weight basis so as to eliminate the distortions of different (and varying) amounts of moisture. Digestibility and other metabolic factors were not factored into the calculations. For vitamin A, the values for Retinol Equivalents were derived using standard formulas to convert literature figures given for carotenoids, ß-carotene, or International Units.
*
The bar graphs were plotted electronically, so their resolution exceeds the standard error of the data (which is at minimum 10 percent). Duplicate data were discarded, and ranges were treated as separate values.
