Background: Vegetables, an important source of our diet contain some beneficial antioxidants. Objectives: This study evaluated pro-vitamin A, vitamins E and C content of extracts of tomato, fluted pumpkin and eggplant and bioavailability of these antioxidants in rats. Methods: The antioxidant content of the vegetable aqueous extracts, serum, liver, faecal and urinary antioxidants were determined using standard procedures. Results: The aqueous extract of tomato had the highest pro-vitamin A content (0.33±0.01mg/100ml) and fluted pumpkin extract had the highest vitamins E and C (5.07±0.04mg/100ml) and (40±0.02mg/100ml) respectively. The faecal and urinary vitamin A for the rats fed vegetable extracts was higher than their intake. Rats fed tomato extract consumed more (0.09±0.02mg) pro-vitamin A and had the highest liver vitamin A (2.33±0.01mg). This group of rats also had the least vitamin E intake (0.20±0.00mg) with high urinary (0.34±0.01mg) and faecal (0.65±0.01mg) excretions leading to negative vitamin E retention. In addition, rats fed tomato extracts consumed highest vitamin C (10.10±0.80mg) which contributed to the high serum concentration of vitamin C (0.85±0.00mg). Conclusion:Further studies on the specific bioavailability of vitamin A and vitamin E (α-, β, γ-and δ-tocopherols) differentials in the vegetable extracts should be carried out.

Background: Enough information about the actual amount of individual phytochemicals in vegetables and the amount absorbed and utilized is not known. Objective: This study evaluated flavonoid, saponin and phenol content of aqueous extracts of tomato, fluted pumpkin and eggplant as well as the bioavailability of these phytochemicals in rat. Methods: The phytochemical content of the vegetable extracts and the serum, faecal and urinary phytochemicals were determined using standard procedures. Result: The flavonoid content of tomato, fluted pumpkin and eggplant extracts were 90.23±0.04mg/100ml, 76.13±0.02mg/100ml and 14.34±0.02mg/100ml, respectively. The eggplant extracts had the highest saponin (73.29±0.46mg/100ml) and phenol (158.14±0.05mg/100ml) content. The rats fed tomato extracts had the highest intake (24.08±0.00mg) and tissue store (21.88±0.04) of flavonoid relative to the other extracts. The serum saponins for rats fed eggplant (0.25±0.05mg) extract was comparable to those rats fed tomato (0.22±0.04mg) and fluted pumpkin (0.26±0.05mg) extracts regardless of high intake (17.77±0.01mg). However, they had the highest tissue saponin (16.87±0.05mg). The group of rats fed the fluted pumpkin extract had the highest serum phenol (0.49±0.06mg). Conclusion:The vegetables can be considered good sources of phytochemical since their extracts were rich in the phytochemical studied.