Abstract

This study evaluated the nutritional compositions of infected and uninfected fruits of Canarium schweinfurthii (African elemi) to determine the effect of fungal infection on proximate and mineral contents. Fresh fruits were collected from Ebonyi State, Nigeria, and analyzed under laboratory conditions using standard Association of Official Analytical Chemist (AOAC) methods. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was adopted, and data were subjected to one-way Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with mean separation by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at a 5% probability level. Results showed that fungal infection significantly (p < 0.05) altered the proximate composition of the fruits. Infected fruits exhibited reduced crude proteins (1.77–2.13%) and lipid (21.96–28.11%) compared to uninfected controls (7.11% and 45.48%, respectively), while carbohydrate content increased markedly (45.97–48.66% vs. 6.42%). Similarly, essential minerals such as Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Magnesium (Mg) and Sodium (Na) were significantly lower in infected fruits, although copper levels remained relatively stable across treatments. The result revealed that probable fungi identified were Aspergillius aflatoxiformans, Apotrichum sp and Dothideales sp. The findings suggest that fungal pathogens compromise the nutritional and mineral integrity of Canarium schweinfurthii fruits, thereby reducing their dietary and economic value.