ABSTRACT
Fruits are nutrient suppliers, acting on the metabolism of several functions in the human organism, and their main nutrients (minerals and vitamins) influence the performance of these functions. Fruits are indispensable in human diet to supply essential vitamins, for example, vitamin A, B6, C, E, thiamine, niacin, minerals, and dietary fibre. The study aims to document seasonal variation of fruits in Benin City, Edo State. Data on the seasonal variation of fruits in Benin City, Edo State will be obtained through oral interview. Four markets will be visited frequently in the course of this study. The data obtained were documented and analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics using SPSS version 20 and Microsoft Excel Statistical Package. A total of 26 fruits were encountered and documented, they were spread across the following families Cucurbitaceae, Malvaceae, Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Bromeliaceae, Annonaceae, Caricaceae, Rutaceae, Palmae, Sterculiaceae, Cyperaceae, Burderaceae, Apiaceae, Irvingiaceae, Anacadiaceae, Musaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Convolvulaceae. The fruits collected comprises of Tree (15), Herb (6), Shrub (4) and Grass (1). This result reveals significant number of fruits in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. The study reveal that Benin City have high diversity of tropical fruits and this may be due their location within the rain forest belt which is known for its high species diversity.
