Determination Proximate Composition of the Wild Abyssinian Thyme Herb (Thyme Schimperi L.) Grown in High Lands of Southern Tigray, North Ethiopia

Abstract

A study was conducted at southern zone of Tigray, North Ethiopia, with the objective of knowing the nutritive value of the wild Abyssinian thyme herb aerial parts. Different aerial parts of the plant were considered for the experiments and consisted in a completed randomized design of comparison test. The proximate composition and gross energy value of the plant parts were analyzed using AACC (2000) and the data were analyzed by SAS software version 9.1. The results revealed that Abyssinian thyme herb aerial parts the Flower, Leaf and  Whole plant contained  ash (11.32, 11.0 and 10.2%), crude protein (11.08,  9.97, and 9.6%), crude fat (6.1, 2.75 and 6.14%), crude fiber (15.1, 15.5 and 18.7%), moisture (11.13, 11.13 and 10.6%) and total carbohydrate (56.38, 60.75and 55.33%), respectively. Among the proximate composition of Abyssinian thyme herb found in this work has a high carbohydrate content and it was low in fat and protein levels. From  the three aerial parts of the Abyssinian thyme herb found in this work, the flower has a high protein and ash content and leaf aerial part has the lowest crude fat content. Among the three Abyssinian thyme herb aerial parts, the whole plant shows the lowest content of ash and protein.

Keywords: Thyme, protein, flower, leaf, proximate