Preliminary Studies on the Development and Evaluation of Instant Pounded Yam from Dioscorea alata

Of all the species of Dioscorea , Dioscorea alata possesses higher multiplication ratio and better storability, and requires less capital and labour to produce than the most common specie, Dioscorea rotundata . Exploitation of the industrial potential of D. alata by diversifying its utilisation through the development of novel products will expand its utilisation. This study therefore investigated the potential of developing instant poundo yam flour from D. alata. Instant poundo yam flour was prepared from D. alata by peeling, dicing and immersing yam tubers in sodium metabisulphite solution (800 ppm for 20 min). The tubers were thereafter blanched at 70 \ub0C for either 5 or 10 min, dried in a cabinet dryer at 60 \ub0C for 72 hr, milled and sieved (600 \ub5m) to obtain two experimental samples of poundo yam flours. The proximate composition of the flours was determined using standard methods. Sensory evaluation was conducted to determine the sensory attributes [colour, flavour, taste, textural quality (strecthability, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, smoothness) and general acceptability] of the flours. The two instant poundo yam samples were further compared with a commercial poundo yam in terms of the sensory attributes. There was no significant difference (p 640.05) in the proximate composition of the two experimental instant poundo yam samples but their textural quality differed significantly (p 640.05). Instant poundo yam blanched for 10 min recorded higher sensory scores than the one blanched for 5 min and compared fairly well with the reference sample. An acceptable instant poundo yam has been developed from D. alata

Preliminary Studies on the Development and Evaluation of Instant Pounded Yam from Dioscorea alata

Of all the species of Dioscorea , Dioscorea alata possesses higher multiplication ratio and better storability, and requires less capital and labour to produce than the most common specie, Dioscorea rotundata . Exploitation of the industrial potential of D. alata by diversifying its utilisation through the development of novel products will expand its utilisation. This study therefore investigated the potential of developing instant poundo yam flour from D. alata. Instant poundo yam flour was prepared from D. alata by peeling, dicing and immersing yam tubers in sodium metabisulphite solution (800 ppm for 20 min). The tubers were thereafter blanched at 70 °C for either 5 or 10 min, dried in a cabinet dryer at 60 °C for 72 hr, milled and sieved (600 µm) to obtain two experimental samples of poundo yam flours. The proximate composition of the flours was determined using standard methods. Sensory evaluation was conducted to determine the sensory attributes [colour, flavour, taste, textural quality (strecthability, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, smoothness) and general acceptability] of the flours. The two instant poundo yam samples were further compared with a commercial poundo yam in terms of the sensory attributes. There was no significant difference (p≤0.05) in the proximate composition of the two experimental instant poundo yam samples but their textural quality differed significantly (p≤0.05). Instant poundo yam blanched for 10 min recorded higher sensory scores than the one blanched for 5 min and compared fairly well with the reference sample. An acceptable instant poundo yam has been developed from D. alata

Nutrient composition, functional and sensory properties of gruel made from local rice

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the nutrient composition, functional and sensory properties of complementary diets (gruel) developed from local rice.Methods: Local rice grains and paddy rice were fermented and malted respectively, oven dried, milled and sieved into flour. The samples  including the control sample (maize 'ogi') were analyzed for proximate, vitamin, mineral composition, as well as their functional properties using standard methods.Results: The protein value ranged from 5.13-7.90%, while the fat was  between 0.22-0.48%, carbohydrates: 82.63-87.77% and ash between 0.25% -0.92%. The calcium and iron content ranged between  56.8-359.7ppm, and 37.61-69.99ppm respectively. Vitamin composition showed Vitamin A ranged between 160.0-341.79I.U, and Vitamin B 0.69-6.57mg. The 2 functional properties ranged from 0.58-0.95g/ml for bulk density, and swelling index 4.66-18.01%. Fermented maize gruel (control) had the highest values for peak viscosity (2549 cP). Samples were significantly different in organoleptic properties.Conclusion: The fermented rice gruel was more accepted than the malted counterpart although the malted rice sample had higher nutritional content, low bulk density and formed thinner and a less viscous gruel.Key words: Local rice, malting, fermentation, paddy rice, maize 'Ogi'

Effects of NPK and biochar fertilized soil on the proximate composition and mineral evaluation of maize flour

Series of farming practice methods have been employed to increase maize production but there is no adequate information on the effect of these methods on the nutritional and mineral content of organically grown maize. This study investigated the effects of inorganic and biochar fertilized soils on the proximate composition and mineral content of maize. Maize seeds were planted on organically fertilized soil (sawdust and gliricidia biochar), chemically fertilized soil Nitrogen Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK fertilizer), and soil without any amendment as control. The proximate compositions (protein, ash, crude fat, carbohydrate, and moisture) and mineral contents (Na, Mg, K, Ca, Fe, and Zn) of the maize flour samples were determined using standard methods. The results showed that protein content ranged from 4.58% to 7.24% (protein), ash 0.82% to 1.09%, crude fat 3.84% to 4.61%, moisture 9.76% to 10.60%, and carbohydrate 76.85% to 80.31%. There was no significant (p ≤ 0.05) difference among the proximate compositions except for protein and carbohydrate. Maize planted on NPK fertilized soil had the highest crude protein content of 7.24%. Other results obtained included sodium (55.65 mg/100 g), magnesium (35.87 mg/100 g), and iron (6.78 mg/100 g). Maize from soil without amendments was significantly higher than maize from NPK fertilized and biochar fertilized soils. Also, maize from control plot had the highest calcium content value of 48.95 mg/100 g. We concluded that maize planted with NPK fertilizer had higher nutrient than those planted with biochar application. Also, the mineral content of maize planted in control plot was higher than those on the amended soil

Cultural Characteristics and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Helicobacter pylori Isolated from Dyspepsia Patients

Helicobacter pylori consist in a helical shaped Gram-negative bacterium, approximately 3 micrometers long with a diameter of approximately 0.5 micrometers. It has 4-6 flagella. It is microaerophilic and tests positive for oxidase, catalase and urease. With its flagella, the bacterium moves through the stomach lumen and drills into the mucus gel layer of the stomach. In humans, H. pylori have been associated with peptic ulcers, chronic gastritis, duodenitis and stomach cancer. It is widely believed that in the absence of treatment, H. pylori infection, once established in its gastric niche, persists for life. The aim of this research is to study the cultural characteristics and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of H. pylori strains isolated from southwest Nigeria. The cultural characteristics and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from gastric mucosal antral biopsy specimens collected from 43 of 52 dyspepsia patients in the University College Hospital Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, were determined using standard microbiological methods for Helicobacter pylori isolation. The 43 isolates were subjected to 23 different antibiotics and each of the antibiotics demonstrated a variable degree of activity against the isolates. Among the antibiotics to which the organism was most susceptible are: ofloxacin (30 μg) 100% activity, ciprofloxacin (5 μg) 97.67% activity, gentamicin (120 μg) 95.35 activity, amikacin (30 μg), kanamycin (30 μg) and chloramphenicol (30 μg) each 90.70% activity, clarithromycin (15 μg) 93.02, while the less active antibiotics are: augmentin (30 μg) 23.26% active, amoxycillin (25 μg) and metronidazole (50 μg) each 27.91% active and clindamycin (2 mg) 30.23% active. From the result of the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the strains of the organism, 95.35% of the total isolates are multi drug resistant. Resistance was developed to, among others, augmentin (30 μg), amoxycillin (25 μg), metronidazole (50 μg) and clindamycin (2 mg)

Convolutional neural network allows amylose content prediction in yam (<i>Dioscorea alata</i> L.) flour using near infrared spectroscopy

International audienceBackground: Yam (Dioscorea alata L.) is the staple food of many populations in the intertropical zone, where it is grown. The lack of phenotyping methods for tuber quality has hindered the adoption of new genotypes from breeding programs. Recently, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been used as a reliable tool to characterize the chemical composition of the yam tuber. However, it failed to predict the amylose content, although this trait is strongly involved in the quality of the product. Results: This study used NIRS to predict the amylose content from 186 yam flour samples. Two calibration methods were developed and validated on an independent dataset: partial least squares (PLS) and convolutional neural networks (CNN). To evaluate final model performances, the coefficient of determination (R 2), the root mean square error (RMSE), and the ratio of performance to deviation (RPD) were calculated using predictions on an independent validation dataset. The tested models showed contrasting performances (i.e., R 2 of 0.72 and 0.89, RMSE of 1.33 and 0.81, RPD of 2.13 and 3.49 respectively, for the PLS and the CNN model). Conclusion: According to the quality standard for NIRS model prediction used in food science, the PLS method proved unsuccessful (RPD < 3 and R 2 < 0.8) for predicting amylose content from yam flour but the CNN model proved to be reliable and efficient method. With the application of deep learning methods, this study established the proof of concept that amylose content, a key driver of yam textural quality and acceptance, can be predicted accurately using NIRS as a high throughput phenotyping method