Effect of Processing Methods on the Physicochemical, Antinutrient and Pasting Properties of Three Commonly Consumed Soup Thickeners in Nigeria

The effect of processing methods on the physicochemical, functional, anti-nutrient factors and pasting properties of Mucuna sloanei (ukpo), Brachystegia eurycoma (achi) and Daterium microcarpum (ofor) were assessed using standard methods. Flour from these seeds were produced after boiling and soaking at different time intervals.  The moisture and ash contents of the three soup thickeners ranged between 5.58- 8.92% and 1.14-5.59% with sample B1 (achi boiled for 15 min) and C4 (ofor soaked for 48 h) having the lowest while sample B2 (achi boiled for 30 min) and C1 (ofor boiled for 15 min) having the highest. Crude Fat and fibre contents ranged from 2.90-10.95% and 1.30-14.39% with samples C1 and A1 (ukpo boiled for 15 min) as the highest respectively. Crude protein and carbohydrate contents of soup thickeners ranged between 9.19 -21.31% and 45.01-71.38% with samples A3 (ukpo soaked for 24 h) and B4 (achi soaked for 48 h) as the highest. Sugar and starch contents ranged from 2.61-5.04% and from 69.00-74.27% respectively with sample C4 and A4 (ukpo soaked for 48 h) as the lowest and sample A3 and B3 (Achi soaked for 24 h) as the highest. Amylose content increased with boiling and decreased with soaking which was the reverse amylopectin. Functional properties showed bulk density and dispersibility to range between 0.56-0.76 g/ml and 32.50-48-00% with sample B3 (achi soaked for 24 h) as highest in both cases. Solubility and swelling power ranged from 32.56-107.51% and from 4.61-8.72 g/g with sample A2 (ukpo boiled for 30 min) and A1 having the highest respectively. Foam capacity ranged from 2.50-29.50% with sample C2 (ofor soaked for 48 h) having the lowest and sample A1 having the highest, while the least gelation concentration of the three soup thickeners recorded 2.00% for all the treatments. Water absorption capacity ranged between 0.67-10.46 ml/g with B1 having the lowest and sample C2 having the highest. Antinutritional factors showed that phytate recorded 0.01 g/kg for all the treatments, tannin ranged from 2.22-40.71 mg/kg, oxalate between 3.40-7.90mg/100g and saponin between 2.60-9.18% with different treatments affecting the antinutrients. Free fatty acid, peroxide value, saponification and acid values increased with an increase in treatment time while iodine value decreased as processing time increased. Pasting result showed that treatment and time affected pasting properties with the highest values as peak viscosity 16429RVU, trough viscosity 9231RVU, breakdown 7858RVU, final viscosity 19977RVU and set back viscosity 13004RVU respectively. Peak time and pasting temperature ranged between 1.60-6.10 min and between 50.25-76.18°C for the different treatments. This study shows the need for appropriate treatment and time combination for better nutrient availability and detoxification of these seeds as soup thickeners

Households’ consumption pattern of leafy vegetables in selected communities in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria

The study assessed households’ consumption pattern of leafy vegetables in selected communities in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. The study adopted a survey research design, while the population of the study consisted of mothers of households in the study area. A systematic sampling technique was used to select one community each from the three districts in the study area. Eighty households were randomly selected from each community, making a total of two hundred and forty households as the sample for the study. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and correlation coefficient. The results showed that 50% of the respondents obtain leafy vegetables from the neighbouring community markets. Several types of leafy vegetables were consumed by the respondents with bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) being the most consumed (28.3%) with utazi (Gongronem alatifolium) as the least consumed (3.8%). Majority of the respondents (70.8%) consume their vegetables cooked by adding them to soup and pottage. Some of the respondents (42.5%) consume leafy vegetables because it is their eating habit and few of the respondents (15.4%) consume leafy vegetables for their nutritional benefits. Few of the respondents (18.7%) consume leafy vegetables every day, while many of them (33.8%) consume leafy vegetables once a week. The relationship between respondents’ socioeconomic characteristics and frequency of consumption of leafy vegetables showed that age has a positive relation, while education and family size has a negative relationship.Keywords: Leafy vegetables, households, consumption pattern, diet, micronutrien

Handling and Hygiene Practices of Food Vendors in Rivers State University and Its Environment

The study assessed handling hygiene practices of food vendors in Rivers State University and its environment. A survey research design was adopted for the study while the population consisted of food vendors who prepare and sell ready-to-eat foods in the study area. Snowball sampling technique was used for the study and a total of thirty food vendors constituted the sample size for the study. A self-assessment form was used for data collection and data analyzed with frequency, percentages and Pearson’s correlation. The result showed that majority of the food vendors had no access to portable water and the operating environment untidy.  Most (60%) of the food vendors appeared clean and 70% of them use personal protective clothing while 70% and 97% of them handled foods and money with bare hands while serving food. Storage of cooked food was properly kept in covered containers by 70% of the vendors while 60% of the vendors did not separate raw and cooked foods. Seventy seven (77) percent of vendors did not keep cold foods in refrigerators or ice boxes as to maintain the temperature of the food. Only 40% of the food vendors covered unused utensils while 57% of them did not clean utensils properly after use. The study found out that all the food vendors washed utensils with cold soapy water and 90% of the vendors re-used water for washing utensils

Production and Evaluation of Breakfast Meals from Germinated and Ungerminated Blends of Sorghum and Soybean by Cold Extrusion Process

Breakfast meal was formulated from blends of sorghum and soya beans. The mixed blends of (ungerminated and germinated sorghum/soyabean flour blends) was produced into S-shaped granules using a cold extruder in the following formulation ratio of 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30,and 60:40 ratio. Proximate composition, total mineral (Magnesium, phosphorous, potassium calcium, iron and Zinc), extractable mineral and mineral bio-availability were carried out on the finished product of different blends. Germinated products showed lowest moisture(7.99 %) and carbohydrate(59.43 %) contents, and high values of Ash (3.64 %), Protein(18.19 %) and fat (8.99 %) contents. The highest value Fiber and Energy were obtained in the ungerminated products with values of 11.22 % and 355.72 %, respectively.Bioavailability of germinated product blends showed higher values for all the minerals analyzed.Onsensory evaluation, the ungerminated sorghum product (100:0) recorded highest values among the samples analyzed and was most preferred in term of colour (4.35) and taste (4.10) while the germinated products received preference in the texture with a highest value of 4.35. The overall acceptability was recorded in the ungerminated products with the highest value of 4.15. The results showed that germination and substitution with soya bean up to 60:40 increased the nutrient content of breakfast meal

Proximate Composition, Mineral and Sensory Properties of Orange-Flesh Sweet Potato Starch, Soybean and Groundnut Flour Complementary Food

Aims: This study was aimed at formulating and evaluating the proximate, mineral and sensory properties of complementary food from blends of orange flesh sweet potato (Ipomea batata) starch, soybean (Glycine max) and groundnut (Arachis hypogea) flour. Methodology: Orange flesh sweet potato starch (OFSP), soybean flour (SB) and groundnut flour (GN) were blended in the ratio of (OFSP:SB:GN): 90:5:5, 85:10:5, 80:15:5, 75:20:5, 70:25:5, 65:30:5, 60:35:5, 55:40:5, 50:45:5 and designated as PSG1 – PSG9, while 100% OFSP served as control. Evaluations were carried out following standard analytical methods. Results: Moisture, fat, ash, crude fibre and carbohydrate contents varied significantly (P<0.05) from 7.53 – 10.74, 1.33 -17.22, 1.20 – 1.94, 4.34 – 19.58 and 53.10 – 70.53% respectively. Protein content (7.62 – 21.91%) of the blends will meet >75% of safe level of protein intake for infants and children.  Energy ranged from 339.45 – 373.07 Kcal/100g and will meet >55% of energy requirement for infants at 6 months. Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg and Zn varied respectively, from 0.68 - 6.07, 0.28 - 0.62, 4.40 - 11.94, 1.87 - 2.04, and 1.26 – 2.10 mg/100g. PSG complementary food in comparison to the recommended intake of minerals was found to be excellent in Cu, adequate in Fe and Zn but low in Mg and inadequate in Ca. Degrees of likeness for the sensory attributes: aroma, appearance, colour, taste, texture and overall acceptability varied from 5.00 - 7.00, 3.80 - 7.56, 5.04 - 7.20, 3.84 - 7.33, 3.88 - 7.56 and 4.29 - 6.96 respectively. These degrees of likeness from 3.84 - 7.56 indicated dislike moderately to like moderately. PSG7and PSG8 had significantly (P<0.05) the highest degrees of likeness for all attributes except for texture in PSG7 with neither liked nor disliked. Conclusion: This work showed that enriching orange flesh sweet potato starch by substituting with soya bean and groundnut, increased nutritional composition of the complementary food and addition of soybean flour up to 35 and 40% was acceptable to the assessors. This implies that this complementary food can be recommended as diet for newly weaned and older children

Calibration development for nutritional evaluation of Yam (Dioscorea sp.) using Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectrophotometry (NIRS)

Open Access JournalThe aim of yam breeders is to produce many hybrids, which can form the basis of selecting quality nutritional traits and other characteristics using certain agronomic criteria. Chemical methods are employed to determine the main constituents of yam, which are time-consuming, expensive, and involve sample destruction. However, the constraints of lengthy analysis time and the cost needed to analyze thousands of these genotypes are major constraints to yam breeding in Nigeria. This study was undertaken to develop and validate calibration equations on the Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectrophotometer (NIRS) for determining chemical compositions of selected yam genotypes. Equations developed for moisture, ash, protein, crude fiber, and tannin showed high coefficients of determination (R2) for the calibration curve (0.87, 0.84, 0.83, 0.80, and 0.89, respectively) and high to medium coefficients of determination in cross-validation (0.80, 0.68, 0.69, 0.68, and 0.50). The standard errors of calibration (SEC) and the standard errors in cross-validation (SECV) were low for most constituents. A total of 360 ascensions of yam flour were predicted for selected traits to test the equations, and the results were comparable with data from conventional methods. Results of this study have shown that NIRS could be a very useful tool to help yam breeders screen large sample sets using limited resources with very short time. This will enhance breeders’ rapid selection of genotypes at screening stage where many breeding lines are to be evaluated within the shortest time possible.Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationPeer Revie