Asian Food Science Journal

Background: Despite the health benefits of coconut oil and its potential for economic development, the availability remain scarce and the cost very high. This is mainly due to poor extraction methods that in turn affect the yield and quality.

Aims: To produce coconut oil using different extraction protocols and to compare the quality of the different oil samples.

Study Design: The experimental set-up was of a completely randomized design.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Food Science and Technology, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria, between August and October 2018.

Methodology: Coconut oils produced by natural fermentation, centrifugation, freeze-thaw and solvent extraction protocols were analyzed for physical, chemical, sensory, microbial sensory properties.

Results: The solvent extracted oil had the highest oil yield (23.12%) whereas fermentation oil, the lowest (14.19%). The smoke and fire points had 173.75 -176.60°C and 262.45 - 266.65°C respectively. Solvent oil had the highest saponification (261.33 mgKOH/g) and acid values (0.77 mgKOH/g). The oils generally contained more lauric (46.22-48.16%) and myristic (18.03-19.83%) acids. They were also richer in vitamins A (6.22-18.65 ug/g) and E (2.92-4.28 mg/100 g) than D and K. Fermentation oil had the highest microbial count (12.93×0² cfu/ml) whereas solvent oil had the lowest (5.05×0² cfu/ml).

Conclusion: The methods used for the coconut oil extraction had significant impact on the quality of the oils. The highest oil yield was the centrifugation oil obtained from Centrifugation Method. The physico-chemical properties and fatty acid compositions of the coconut oils were comparable to international standards. Coconut oil extracted by freezing and thawing was the most preferred in sensory attributes.

Sorghum is a local grain that grows predominantly in the semi-arid, savannah and grassland region of Northern Nigeria and other parts of the world. Sorghum samples were collected from five districts in each of the six agro-ecological zones, while the sorghum based products such as gruel, pap and porridge were also sampled using A quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) followed by measurement of the body weight and  the quantity of food consumed by the respondents. The mycotoxin concentrations in both raw sorghum sample and the sorghum based products were determined using High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Mycotoxin concentrations determined from the two different samples was used to determine the amount of mycotoxins consumed by respondents from different age groups. Subsequently the burden of aflatoxin induced Hepato celluar carcinoma (HCC) in communities (within the zone) that subsist on sorghum and sorghum based products was also determined. There was a significant difference (P = 0.05) between the concentration of the mycotoxins in the raw and the processed sorghum samples in the area under study. The processing methods employed in the in the preparation of these products could not reduce the toxin level below the PTDI and TDI levels set by the regulatory agencies. Average daily consumption of sorghum based products based on age range was found to be 192.5 g/day, 617.0 g/day, 810.2 g/day and 746.1 g/day for the infants, children, adults and elderly respectively The incidence of HCC and the burden aflatoxin induced HCC in the HbsAg⁺ and the HbsAg^- populations was alarmingly high. Sorghum is a major grain corn in the world agricultural economy and represents an important staple food for the populations of many developing countries. Nevertheless, the nutritional value of sorghum as human food, as well as a feed material for animals, is impaired by its susceptibility to infection by fungi and fungal metabolites and this calls for urgent mitigation strategies to avoid health emergencies particularly in the poverty stricken countries of the sub Saharan Africa where this crop is a common staple.

This study was conducted to assess the microbiological safety of locally-fermented, ready-to-eat cassava products, namely garri and ‘fufu’, in Lokoja. A total of sixty samples comprising; twenty white garri, twenty yellow garri and twenty fufu were subjected to microbial analysis. The samples were serially diluted to 10^-4 and appropriate dilutions inoculated by spread plate method into Nutrient agar, MacConkey agar and Potato Dextrose agar plates which were used for total aerobic plate count (TAPC), coliform count (CC) and fungal count respectively. The TAPC for white garri ranged from 0.78 to 3.83 log cfu/g, the coliform count ranged from no growth (NG) to 3.80 log cfu/g, while the mean fungal count ranged from 1.96 to 3.39 log cfu/g. The TAPC for yellow garri ranged from 2.04 to 3.95 log cfu/g, the coliform count ranged from NG to 3.62 log cfu/g and the fungal count ranged from 2.08 to 3.44 log cfu/g. The TAPC of fufu was within the range of 1.07 to 3.70 log cfu/g, the coliform count ranged from NG to 3.48 log cfu/g and the fungal count ranged from 1.94 to 2.78 log cfu/g. The bacteria isolated include Bacillus spp., Enterobacter spp., Pseudomonas spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. The fungi isolated from the study samples include Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Rhizopus spp., Alternaria spp., Montospora spp., and Penicillium spp. The pH of the samples ranged from 4.02 to 4.96 in white garri, 4.02 to 4.99 in yellow garri, and 5.02 to 6.44 in fufu. Findings showed that these widely consumed fermented (ready-to-eat) cassava products presents (may represent) a serious risk and route for transmission of food borne pathogens to consumers and generally huge economic disadvantage to food handlers. Improving manufacturing, packaging and storage practices in garri production and for public health purposes are strongly encouraged.

The research was carried out to collect some useful information on Lagenaria siceraria (Calabash gourd melon) seeds. The dried melon seeds were sorted, cleaned, soaked in water for easy removal and dehulled by abrasion to get the cotyledons, which were divided into three parts. The first part was used directly for analysis, the second part was boiled while the third part was fermented and analysed. Boiled melon had the highest fat and protein content while the raw melon had the highest carbohydrate content, however there was no significant increase in the ash content of the samples. There was a significant reduction in the antinutritional factors of boiled and fermented melon samples compared to the raw melon. Processing led to significant increase in the antioxidant activities and vitamin contents. The study observed that processing led to significant increase in the nutritional composition of the melon seeds and significant reduction in the antinutritional factors.

Aim: To assess the prevalence of undernutrition and to study the effect of Nutrition Education Program (NEP) on dietary pattern of adolescent girls (15 to 20 years) in Mumbai.

Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, S.N.D.T. Women’s University, Matunga, Mumbai (India), between December 2018 to February 2019.

Methodology: For this study, Pre-test and Post-test experimental research design was used. 200 adolescent girls were selected to assess their dietary patterns and nutritional status through purposive random sampling method. Nutritional parameters such as height for age, weight for height and weight for age were calculated along with 3 days 24-hour diet recall among adolescent girls.

Results: Prevalence of undernutrition was observed among adolescent girls. The overall mean consumption of energy, protein and carbohydrate was less as per the ICMR 2010 guidelines for adolescent girls. The mean consumption of day 1 energy was increased from 1515 ± 127 to 1623 ± 127. Similarly increase in the mean consumption of day 1 protein (from 38.20 ± 6.46 to 43.90 ± 6.45) and carbohydrate (from 353.90 ± 39.88 to 387.30 ± 37.75) was also documented. However, the fat consumption also seemed to be increased (from 45.70 ± 4.52 to 48.40 ± 4.54 on day 1) which might be due the consumption of outside High Fat High Salt (HFHS) food.