Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 53: 275–283, 1999.

© 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

Proximate composition and mineral content of two

edible species of Cnidoscolus (tree spinach)

J.O. KUTI1 and H.O. KUTI2

1 Texas A&M University-Kingsville, College of Agriculture & Human Sciences, Horticultural
Crops Research Laboratory, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA; 2 Spohn Kleberg Memorial
Hospital, Department of Food & Nutrition Services, Kingsville, Texas, USA

Received 28 November 1997; accepted in revised form 13 February 1999

Abstract. Proximate composition and mineral content of raw and cooked leaves of two ed-
ible tree spinach species (Cnidoscolus chayamansa and C. aconitifolius), known locally as
‘chaya’, were determined and compared with that of a traditional green vegetable, spinach
(Spinicia oleraceae). Results of the study indicated that the edible leafy parts of the two
chaya species contained significantly (p < 0.05) greater amounts of crude protein, crude
fiber, Ca, K, Fe, ascorbic acid and β-carotene than the spinach leaf. However, no significant
(p > 0.05) differences were found in nutritional composition and mineral content between
the chaya species, except minor differences in the relative composition of fatty acids, protein
and amino acids. Cooking of chaya leaves slightly reduced nutritional composition of both
chaya species. Cooking is essential prior to consumption to inactivate the toxic hydrocyanic
glycosides present in chaya leaves. Based on the results of this study, the edible chaya leaves
may be good dietary sources of minerals (Ca, K and Fe) and vitamins (ascorbic acid and
β-carotene).

Key words: Cnidoscolus aconitifolius, Cnidoscolus chayamansa, Spinicia oleraceae, Chaya,

Mineral nutrients, Nutrient composition

Introduction

The tree spinach, called ‘chaya’ in south Texas, is popular in Mexico and
Central America and has been recently introduced into the USA (mainly in
southern Texas and Florida) for potential use as a leafy vegetable and/or as a
medicinal plant by the Hispanic populations [1, 2]. Chaya is a fast growing
and attractive shrub, 3–5 m tall that belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family [3].
There are two common edible species of chaya: Cnidoscolus chayamansa
is found mostly from the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico to Honduras and
in Cuba; Cnidoscolus aconitifolius is found mostly in southern Mexico and
Costa Rica. Botanically, both C. aconitifolius and C. chayamansa appear to
be similar morphologically except in their leaf shape.
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Young chaya shoots and tender leaves are cooked and eaten like spinach.
They comprise an important dietary staple and the main dietary source of
leafy green vegetable for the indigenous people of the Yucatan peninsula of
Mexico and the Kekchi people of Alta Verapaz in Guatemala [1, 4, 5]. It
has been argued that edible parts of the chaya plant may provide important
nutritional sources of protein, vitamins and minerals among populations that
cannot afford expensive foods rich in these nutrients [6]. While nutritional
potential of chaya has been suggested [4], little scientific experimentation
has been done to substantiate the nutritional value of chaya leaves. Thera-
peutic benefits of chaya tea related to non-insulin dependent diabetic mellitus
(NIDDM) symptomatology [7] has been studied. The present study was un-
dertaken to determine the proximate composition and mineral contents of
raw and cooked chaya leaves from the two edible species, C. aconitifolius
and C. chayamansa, compared to the nutritional composition of commonly
consumed spinach leaves (Spinicia oleraceae).

Materials and methods

Sample collection and preparation. Young leaves and shoots of the two
Cnidoscolus spp. were collected, in late summer and early fall of 1997, from
field grown plants at the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Horticultural
Crops Research plots. The two species were identified botanically using Lun-
dell’s key [8]. The spinach leaves used for this study were also grown in
the field at Kingsville, Texas and harvested at the same time as the chaya
leaves. Fresh leaf samples were harvested, sorted for green leaves, washed
thoroughly in water to remove dirt, and stored in a refrigerator overnight prior
to analysis. Raw samples (450 g) to be cooked were cut into smaller even
portions, placed in a shallow 1-quart (1-liter) volume Corning microwavable
container; 1 /4 (50 ml) cup of water was added, and the container was covered
with a glass lid to promote steaming. The container was then cooked slowly
in a 1.3 cu ft Panasonic microwave 1,000-wattage oven with auto-turntable,
for 15 min. The raw and cooked samples of the chaya and spinach leaves
were used for chemical analyses.

Proximate composition, mineral and vitamin analyses. The leaf samples

were analyzed for residual moisture, crude fiber and β-carotene, using the
standard procedures of AOAC [9]. The AOAC standard methods used were
#22.018 for determination of moisture, #7.069 for crude fiber analysis and
#43.018 for β-carotene analysis. Fat content was determined using Soxhlet
extraction for 4 hours starting in turn with methanol and ethanol, respect-
ively [10]. Ash content was estimated by weighing 1 g of each sample into a
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tared procelain crucible and incinerating at 600 ◦ C for 6 hours in an ashing

muffle furnance (Model 1184A Fisher Scientific, Houston, TX) until ash was
obtained. Carbohydrate (CHO) content was obtained by difference. Several
seed-producing Cnidoscolus species including C. aconitifolius are known to
contain various types of fatty acids in their kernel [11]. Fatty acid composition
was determined by capillary gas chromatography of fatty acid methyl esters
from leaves of the two Cnidoscolus species [12].
Crude protein content was estimated by the micro-Kjeldahl method as
modified by Pearson [13]. The crude protein was calculated by multiplying
the total nitrogen by a conversion factor of 6.25. The amino acid composition
was determined using a Beckman System 6300 amino acid analyzer [14].
Minerals were determined using atomic absorption flame spectrophoto-
metry (Model 210VGP, Buck Scientific, East Norwalk, CT). A single-mineral
hollow cathode lamp was used for each element. Riboflavin and thiamin
were analyzed using the capillary zone electrophoresis procedures outlined
by Schiewe et al. [15]. Ascorbic acid was analyzed using the 2,6 dichloro-
indophenol method [10].
Average nutritive (AN) values of the chaya leaves were calculated and
compared to spinach leaves. The AN values were calculated using the em-
prical formula proposed by Grubben [16].

ANvalue = 6(prot ein+f iber+Ca+F e+β−carot ene+ascorbic acid)

(40×1012 )
µg

Statistical analysis. All samples were analyzed in triplicate and the data
were subjected to one way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Treatment mean
differences were compared by least significant difference (LSD) at 5% level
of probability.

Results and discussion

The nutrient composition and crude fiber of raw chaya and spinach leaves
are presented in Table 1. There were significant variations in protein, carbo-
hydrate and crude fiber contents between the two green vegetables. Chaya
leaves were generally found to contain a substantially greater amount of
protein, carbohydrate and crude fiber than the spinach leaves. From Table 2
data one can see that the distribution of minerals in the leaves of chaya and
spinach were significantly (p <0.05) different in the amounts of Ca, K, Na
and Fe. Chaya leaves were especially high in Ca, K and Fe while spinach
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Table 1. Comparison of the proximate nutrient composition (%) of raw and cooked
edible leaves of two tree spinach species (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius and Cnidoscolus
chayamansa) and spinach (Spinicia oleraceae)a

Leaf sample Protein CHO Fat Ash Fiber

C. aconitifolius
Raw 5.8 5.9 0.4 2.3 1.9
Cooked 4.7 6.2 0.5 –b 1.7
C. chayamansa
Raw 8.2 6.4 0.4 2.1 2.1
Cooked 6.5 6.6 0.4 – 1.5
S. oleraceae
Raw 3.2 3.8 0.4 1.9 0.9
Cooked 3.0 3.5 0.3 – 0.8
LSD (0.05) 2.4 0.7 0.3 0.5 0.9
a Means within columns compared by least significant difference (LSD) at p <0.05
level.
b No data were taken.

Table 2. Comparison of proximate mineral composition (mg/100 g) in raw and

cooked edible leaves of two tree spinach species (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius and
Cnidoscolus chayamansa) and spinach (Spinicia oleraceae)a

Leaf sample Ca K Na Mg Fe

C. aconitifolius
Raw 199 271 61 87 8.9
Cooked 218 244 –b 98 9.0
C. chayamansa
Raw 221 277 56 90 11.4
Cooked 236 250 – 94 11.7
S. oleraceae
Raw 101 146 76 88 5.7
Cooked 135 134 – 85 6.3
LSD (0.05) 23 32 11 19 2.5
a Means within columns compared by least significant difference (LSD) at
p <0.05 level.
b No data were taken.
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Table 3. Comparison of ascorbic acid, riboflavin, thiamin and β-carotene con-
centrations (mg/100 g, fwb) in raw edible leaves of two tree spinach species
(Cnidoscolus aconitifolius and Cnidoscolus chayamansa) and spinach (Spinicia
oleraceae)

Leaf sample Ascorbic acid Riboflavin Thiamin β-carotene

C. aconitifolius 165 a 0.12 a 0.15 a 0.094 a

C. chayamansa 172 a 0.17 a 0.18 a 0.085 a
S. oleraceae 48 b 0.20 a 0.10 a 0.014 b
Means within a column with different letters are significantly different using LSD
test at p <0.05 level.

leaves contained a significantly higher amount of Na. Mg contents of the two

vegetables were similar.
The concentrations of ascorbic acid, riboflavin, thiamin and β-carotene in
raw chaya and spinach leaves are presented in Table 3. Chaya leaves and
shoots had significantly (p <0.05) higher levels of ascorbic acid and β-
carotene but were similar to spinach in concentrations of riboflavin and thia-
min. The nutrient values observed for chaya leaves in this study were similar
to those reported in other studies [4, 17, 18]. Compared to some of the other
edible leafy green vegetables [19], chaya leaves furnished appreciable quant-
ities of essential macro-minerals necessary for human health maintenance. A
typical daily serving of approximately 1 /2 cup (100 ml) of chaya leaves, in
a soup boiled with other ingredients such as onion, garlic, tomato, and meat
or chicken, may provide an individual with sufficient quantities of required
vitamins A and C and mineral nutrients such as Ca, K and Fe. Brise and
Hallberg [20] reported that vegetables, such as chaya, with high ascorbic acid
content may enhance absorption of nonheme iron.
While chaya and spinach leaves had similar amounts of vitamins B1 (thia-
min) and B2 (riboflavin), the chaya leaves had significantly higher (p <0.05)
ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and β-carotene content than the spinach leaves
(Table 3). Ascorbic acid, β-carotene and other carotenoids exist widely among
leafy green vegetables, where they function partly as antioxidants and poten-
tially act as anticancer agents [21]. For example, ascorbic acid acts in the
stomach as a scavenger of nitrites and free radicals formed during metabolic
processes [22] and β-carotene inhibits the initiation but not the propagation
phase of auto-oxidation of cooking oils and fried food [23].
While leaves of both Cnidoscolus species contained a very low amount
of fat, the fatty acid composition was not significantly (p >0.05) different
(Table 4). However, C. aconitifolius contained higher levels of palmitic, ste-
aric, oleic and linoleic acids than C. chayamansa. In addition, C. aconitifolius
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Table 4. Fatty acid composition of lipids from raw edible
leaves of two Cnidoscolus species

Fatty acid C. aconitifolius C. chayamansa

Palmitic (C16:0) 2.1 1.4

Stearic (C18:0) 1.2 0.7
Oleic (C18:1) 1.8 1.5
Linoleic (C18:2) 3.3 2.0
Linolenic (C18:3) 0.1 0.0
Others 0.1 0.2
The fatty acid content is expressed as weight percentage of
total fatty acid methyl esters.

Table 5. Amino acid composition of protein from raw edible

leaves of two Cnidoscolus speciesa

Amino acid C. aconitifolius C. chayamansa

Alanine 1.4 3.5

Arginine 2.9 2.3
Glutamic acid 2.0 1.9
Glutamine 3.4 2.7
Histidine 1.0 2.3
Isoleucine 1.2 1.4
Leucine 2.9 3.2
Lysine 1.2 2.0
Methionine –b 1.6
Phenylalanine – 1.9
Threonine 1.0 3.2
Valine 4.2 4.6
a Amino acid content is expressed as mg amino acid per 100 g N.
b Trace amounts were detected.

contained linolenic acid and C. chayamansa contained no linolenic acid. Dif-

ferences in fatty acid profiles of Cnidoscolus species may be useful in their
taxonomy [24].
As a result of its higher protein content, C. chayamansa contained higher
levels of all the amino acids, except arginine and glutamine (Table 5). While
traces of methionine and phenylalanine were found in C. aconitifolius, C.
chayamansa contained appreciable quantities of isoleucine, leucine, lysine,
methionine, phenylalanine, threonine and valine, which are essential amino
acids for human nutrition [25]. These differences in amounts of amino acids
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Figure 1. The average nutritive (AN) values for the two tree spinach species (Cnidoscolus
aconitifolius [CA] and Cnidoscolus chayamansa [CC]) compared with AN value of spin-
ach (Spinicia oleraceae [SO]). Each data point represents the mean of three replications ±
standard error.

and fatty acids could be attributed to species differences among the chaya
plants [24].
Even though analysis of raw and cooked samples of chaya leaves showed
no significant differences (p >0.05) in composition, it appears that cooking
may increase the amount of carbohydrate and fat and decrease the relative
composition of crude fiber and protein (Table 1). Cooked samples of chaya
leaves had slightly higher Ca, Mg and Fe contents, while K content was
lower than in the raw samples (Table 2). The increase in some of the min-
eral nutrients may be due to the cooking process, which allows leaching of
the nutrients, therefore increasing the percentage of solids while decreasing
moisture content [3]. When one considers the roles of protein, fiber, Ca, Fe, β-
carotene and ascorbic acid in human nutrition, AN values of the chaya leaves
are far superior to those of commonly consumed spinach leaves (Figure 1).
Based on the results of this study, edible chaya leaves may be good dietary
282

sources of protein, crude fiber, minerals (Ca, K and Fe) and vitamins (ascorbic
acid and β-carotene).
In conclusion, chaya leaves have a significant potential as an edible horti-
cultural crop. Although demand for chaya is mainly high among the Hispanic
populations in south Texas and Florida in the United States, the high nutrient
content indicates that chaya could be promoted as a vegetable to other mem-
bers of the population in addition to the Hispanics. The development of chaya
as a new horticultural crop would transcend the ethnic popularity and create a
worldwide market for the plant as a leafy green vegetable. One disadvantage
is the presence of an antinutritional factor, hydrocyanic glycosides, in chaya
leaves. However, cooking, which is essential, inactivates this toxic compound
while having little negative effect on nutritional properties.

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Dr Eliseo Torres of the University of New Mexico,
Alburquerque, New Mexico, USA, for providing initial plant materials of the
two Cnidoscolus species used in this research. We are also thankful to Mr
Manuel Ajpop for his excellent technical assistance and to Dr Jamie Laurenz
and Dr Janis Van Buren of the College of Agriculture & Human Sciences,
Texas A&M University-Kingsville for reviewing the manuscript.

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