Effect of different drying methods on the physicochemical characteristics of cassava flour (“pupuru”)

The effects of smoking, toasting and oven drying methods on the physical and chemical characteristics of “pupuru”, a fermented cassava product, were studied. Cassava tubers were manually peeled, washed and steeped in water for four days after which the water was decanted; the soft wet mash was packed into Hessian sack and pressed. One portion was moulded into small-sized (500 g) ball shape and smoked on wood fire for 72 hours (Traditional method). The second portion was moulded into 500 g size ball and dried in the hot air oven at 60 °C for 14 hours. The two products were pulverized and sieved with 60 mesh size into fine pupuru flour. The third wet meal was sifted and toasted on an aluminum pan over fire and then milled into fine toasted pupuru flour. The flours were subjected to physicochemical evaluations. There was reduction in drying time when pupuru was toasted compared to the tradition smoking method. The range of final moisture content achieved was 7.14- 8.40% (db). Despite the shortness in the drying time, the toasted samples had the lowest moisture content. Irrespective of the drying methods, there were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the proximate composition. The crude fibre content was highest in smoked dried with 3.17% compared to the toasted and oven dried samples with 2.12% and 2.53% respectively. The titratable acidity increased by about 78% from 0.09 to 0.16 with corresponding decrease in pH from 5.34 to 4.18. The toasted product had the lowest pH value of 4.18 while smoked and oven dried had 4.67 and 4.63 respectively. The bulk densities for both loosed and packed \ were higher for toasted product with values of 0.54 and 0.62 g/ml respectively,  while smoked dried had the least value of 0.21 and 0.40 g/ml. The swelling power was highest in the toasted pupuru with value 0.38 ml/g and water holding capacity was 259.42 ml/g. The cyanide content of the smoked, oven dried and toasted product were 0.42, 0.48 and 0.47 mg/100g respectively. The toasting method gave the best sample in terms of drying time, moisture content, physical properties and sensory qualities. It can be concluded that toasting drying method is a better alternative method of producing pupuru.Keywords: Cassava, pupuru, physicochemical, sensory, processing

Preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health in Southwest Nigeria: socio-cultural, magico-religious and economic aspects

Agrarian rural dwellers in Nigeria produce about 95% of locally grown food commodities. The low accessibility to and affordability of orthodox medicine by rural dwellers and their need to keep healthy to be economically productive, have led to their dependence on traditional medicine. This paper posits an increasing acceptance of traditional medicine country-wide and advanced reasons for this trend. The fact that traditional medicine practitioners' concept of disease is on a wider plane vis-à-vis orthodox medicine practitioners' has culminated in some socio-cultural and magico-religious practices observed in preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health management. Possible scientific reasons were advanced for some of these practices to show the nexus between traditional medicine and orthodox medicine. The paper concludes that the psychological aspect of traditional medicine are reflected in its socio-cultural and magico-religious practices and suggests that government should fund research into traditional medicine to identify components of it that can be integrated into the national health system

Socioeconomic inequalities in access and use of skilled birth attendants during childbirth in Ghana: a decomposition analysis

Background Equitable access to skilled birth attendance during delivery is vital for reducing global maternal deaths to 70 deaths per 100, 000 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Although several initiatives have been implemented to reduce maternal mortality in Ghana, inequalities in access to skilled birth attendance during delivery still exist among women of different socioeconomic groups. This study assesses the socioeconomic inequalities in access and use of skilled birth attendants during delivery in Ghana. Methods Research was conducted through literature reviews and document reviews, and a secondary data analysis of the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), a nationally representative survey. A total of 1305 women aged 15–49 years, who had a live birth the year before to the survey in the presence of a skilled birth attendant were analysed using concentration indices and curves. The indices were further decomposed to identify the major socioeconomic factors contributing most to the inequalities. Results The results found that access to skilled birth attendants was more among women from rich households showing a pro-rich utilization. The decomposition analysis revealed that household wealth index, educational level of both mother and husband/partner, area of residence and mother’s health insurance coverage were the major contributing factors to socioeconomic inequalities in accessing skilled birth attendants during child delivery among Ghanaian women. Conclusion This study confirms that a mother’s socioeconomic status is vital to reducing maternal deaths. Therefore, it is worthy to focus attention on policy interventions to reduce the observed inequalities as revealed in the study