Production and utilization of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) in Uganda

Jackfruit originated from East Asia, known to be the largest tree born fruit weighs up to 30kg and yields 50-80 tons per hectare annually. The fruit has large potential in Uganda and has been used in value added products on a small and rudimentary scale. This work assessed the production and utilization patterns of jackfruit with a view of determining its capacity to sustain industrial scale processing. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in jackfruit producing regions from April to June 2016. The study variables were household farm size, number of jackfruit trees, types, utilization methods and constraints associated with jackfruit production. A purposive sampling design was used to select districts, sub-counties, parishes and villages to participate in the survey. A total of 400 household heads from the study area were interviewed using a semi structured questionnaire. Responses and observations were recorded; secondary data was also reviewed for information on the total number of households in a district. The results showed that 32% of the respondents worked on 1-2 acres of farmland on which they have at least 2-7 jackfruit trees. About 57% of jackfruit trees were planted while the remaining 43% were inherited. The study area was estimated to have about 1.7 million fruiting jackfruit trees with the number of fruits per tree varying between 20-120 fruits and weighing11 kg, on average. Jackfruit harvest season in Uganda has two peaks in March to April and November to December, with the latter season yielding more fruit. Jackfruit is categorized into white, orange and yellow types based on the pulp color, hard or soft according to pulp texture. About 78% of households produced jack fruit mainly for home consumption, 16% of the households sold the fruit, and 6% fed it to animals while 1% of the household processed them into dried chips or jackfruit wine. The estimated jackfruit production per district in the study area was 0.3 million metric tons/annum. Although the study area has a potential of producing jackfruit for industrial processing, there is need to grow more jackfruit in an organized manner to meet the increasing and competing demands for both home consumption and industrial processing.Keywords: Jackfruit Artocarpus heterophyllus, production, categorization, utilization, household, consumption, flake

Composition and functional properties of yam bean (Pachyrhizus spp.) seed flour

Open Access JournalYam bean (Pachyrhizus spp.) is legume crop that not only produces edible roots but also has a high yield of unutilized seeds. Although the yam bean seeds are rich in protein, they are not used due to a high content of toxic rotenone. In this study, yam bean seeds were detoxified and the nutritional and functional properties of their protein determined to assess the proteins’ potential for applications. Seeds of 10 accessions (2 accessions of P. erosus, 4 accessions of P. ahipa and 4 accessions of P. tuberosus) were analyzed for proximate composition, pasting and functional properties (bulk density, least gelation concentration, water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, emulsifying capacity, emulsion stability, foaming capacity, foam stability and protein solubility). The results showed that yam bean seeds contained: 29.2 - 32.1 g/100g proteins, 31.3 - 33.0 g/100 g carbohydrates, 24.1 - 25.6 g/100g total fat, 7.5 - 8.1 g/100g crude fiber and 3.4 - 4.1 g/100g ash. The defatted P. erosus seed flour contained 45.6 - 48.8 g/100g protein, 32.6 - 36.5 g/100g total carbohydrate, 6.7 - 7.1 g/100g crude fiber, 6.0 - 6.4 g/100g ash and 5.2/100 g crude fat. The defatted yam bean seed flour exhibited relatively high protein solubility (68.0% - 70.4%), least gelation concentration (14%), water absorption capacity (2.8% - 2.9%) and oil absorption capacity (1.5%). The defatted flour exhibited emulsifying capacity of 35.7% - 36.0%, emulsion stability of 33.2% - 33.5%, foaming capacities of 42% and foam stability of 25.1% - 25.8%. With respect to pasting properties, the defatted yam bean seed flours exhibited pasting temperature of 80.0˚C - 81.3˚C, peak viscosity of 145.5 - 146.7 RVU, trough viscosity of 95.1 - 102.0 RVU, break down of 43.5 - 51.6 RVU, set back of 252.9 - 258.1 RVU and final viscosity of 348 - 360 RVU. The results show that yam bean seed has potential for use in both food and nonfood applications

PROPERTIES OF EXTRUDATES FROM SORGHUM VARIETIES

Extrusion cooking is a modern high-temperature short-time (HTST) processing technology, which is becoming popular in certain industries because it offers several advantages over other types of cooking processes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the extrusion performance of sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor ) varieties commonly grown in Uganda. Four varieties of sorghum namely, Seso1, Epuripur, Seso3 and Eyera were extruded with and without defatted soy-flour. Physical-chemical properties of the extrudates including, lateral expansion, bulk density, hardness, water absorption index, water solubility index, as well as proximate composition were determined. The extrudates exhibited 240-300% lateral expansion and 0.067-0.095 g cm-3 bulk density. The water absorption index was 6.4-7.9 g g-1 compared to 1.9-2.3 g g-1 of the control; while the water solubility index was 6.5-13% compared to 3.4-5.0% of the control. Extrusion of all the varieties reduced the peak and final viscosity of the extrudates. There were no varietal differences with respect to lateral expansion, bulk density and hardness. However, the water absorption index for the varieties increased in the order, Eyera, Seso 3, Seso 1 and Epuripur; while the water solubility index for the varieties increased in the order, Seso 1, Seso 3, Eyera and Epuripur. Defatted soybean flour had no effect on the extrudate properties. The results suggest that the four sorghum varieties in this study can be used in the production of extruded puffed snacks, breakfast cereals and other food products.La cuisson-extrusion est une technologie moderne de cuisson rapide \ue0 haute temp\ue9rature qui devient de plus en plus populaire dans certaines industries parce qu\u2019elle offre plusieurs avantages face \ue0 d\u2019autres proc\ue9d\ue9s de cuisson. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d\u2019\ue9valuer la performance de l\u2019extrusion des vari\ue9t\ue9s du sorgho ( Sorghum bicolor ) commun\ue9ment cultiv\ue9es en Ouganda. Quatre vari\ue9t\ue9s du sorgho dont Seso1, Epuripur, Seso3 et Eyera \ue9taient extrud\ue9es avec et sans farine du soja d\ue9graiss\ue9e. Les propri\ue9t\ue9s physico-chimiques de l\u2019extrudant incluant l\u2019expansion lat\ue9rale, la densit\ue9 volumique, la duret\ue9, l\u2019indice d\u2019absorption d\u2019eau ainsi que la composition chimique \ue9taient d\ue9termin\ue9es. Les extrudants ont manifest\ue9 240-300% de l\u2019expansion lat\ue9rale et 0.067-0.095 g cm-3 de la densit\ue9 volumique. L\u2019indice d\u2019absorption d\u2019eau \ue9tait de 6.4-7.9 g g-1 en comparaison avec 1.9-2.3 g g-1 dans le contr\uf4le, pendant que l\u2019indice de solubilit\ue9 dans l\u2019eau \ue9tait de 6.5-13% contre 3.4-5.0% dans le contr\uf4le. L\u2019extrusion de toute les vari\ue9t\ue9s a r\ue9duit l\u2019apog\ue9e et la viscosit\ue9 finale des extrudants. Il n\u2019y avait pas de diff\ue9rences significatives entre les vari\ue9t\ue9s au niveau de l\u2019expansion lat\ue9rale, la densit\ue9 volumique et la duret\ue9. Par ailleurs, l\u2019indice d\u2019absorption d\u2019eau pour les vari\ue9t\ue9s a augment\ue9 dans l\u2019ordre pour les vari\ue9t\ue9s Eyera, Seso 3, Seso 1 et Epuripur; pendant que l\u2019indice de solubilit\ue9 dans l\u2019eau pour les vari\ue9t\ue9s a augment\ue9 dans l\u2019ordre pour les vari\ue9t\ue9s Seso 1, Seso 3, Eyera et Epuripur. La farine degraiss\ue9e de soja n\u2019avait aucun effet sur les propri\ue9t\ue9s de l\u2019extrudant. Ces r\ue9sultats sugg\ue8rent que toutes les quatre vari\ue9t\ue9s de sorgho dans cette \ue9tude peuvent \ueatre utilis\ue9es dans la production des collations , c\ue9r\ue9ales pour petit d\ue9jeuner et autres produits alimentaires