Asian Food Science Journal

Garri is a popular, easy to prepare, storable and low cost staple food made from cassava roots, but lacks the right balance of nutrients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of incorporating mango fruit mesocarp flour as a supplement on the functional, physicochemical and sensory properties of garri. Four blend ratios and codes of 100:0 (C₁₀₀M₀G), 90:10 (C₉₀M₁₀G), 80:20 (C₈₀M₂₀G) and 70:30 (C₇₀M₃₀G) were developed for cassava mash and mango fruit mesocarp flour respectively. The proximate composition, vitamin and elemental composition, functional properties and sensory attributes of the samples were analysed using standard methods. Results from this study revealed that increase in mango fruit mesocarp flour supplementation in the garri increased the protein (1.01 to 1.42%), fat (negligible increase), ash (0.47 to 1.28%), carbohydrate (82.99 to 87.15%), Vitamin A (3.00 to 160.66 µg/100g), Vitamin C (10.23 to 33.34 mg/100g), calcium (0.43 to 1.04%), potassium (0.07 to 0.28%), sodium (0.05 to 0.22%) contents as well as sensory attributes whose values ranged from 5.7 to 7.9 on a 9 point hedonic scale; while decreasing the moisture (12.60 to 7.85%) and crude fibre (2.93 to 2.30%) contents in addition to the bulk density (0.66 to 0.51 g/ml), water absorption capacity (2.11 to 1.30 g/g) and swelling capacity (1.09 to 0.78 g/g). Therefore, adding mango fruit mesocarp flour as supplement has the ability to enhance the macro- and micro-nutrient content, functional properties and sensory characteristics of garri. Sensory evaluation revealed that C₇₀M₃₀G was the most preferred blend formulation.

Introduction: The hydration of grains is a process that consists of soaking them in water in order to increase their moisture content and this is a crucial step in industrialized processing and provides several beneficial effects on their physicochemical and nutritional qualities.

Aims: This study focused on modeling of hydration characteristics of five varieties of cowpea which are: Gombe, Oloyin white, Drum, Oloyin brown and Sokoto cultivated in Nigeria.

Methodology: The experiments were carried out using electronic water bath at five temperatures (30, 40, 50, 60, and 70°C) in three replications. The amount of water absorption by five selected varieties of cowpea grains was calculated by measuring the increase in the mass of soaked grains per time. Five standard models of water absorption were fitted to the experimental data. Coefficient of determination (R²), chi-square (x²) and root mean square error (RMSE) were used to evaluate the models.

Results: The initial moisture content of the saturated cowpea was estimated as 13.56 ±1.15, 15.05 ±2.27, 13.30 ±0.37, 10.85 ±0.13, 12.40 ±0.13 for Gombe, Oloyin white, Drum, Oloyin brown and Sokoto varieties respectively. The water uptake of the cowpea was faster at the initial stage and gradually slow down until the equilibrium moisture content was attained for all the varieties.

Conclusions: Weibull model was adjudged as the best fitted model for describing the water absorption property of all the varieties of the cowpea and the Activation energy of Gombe, Oloyin white, Drum, Oloyin brown and Sokoto varieties are 42.26 ± 4.65, 40.36 ±8.90, 39.47 ±8.62, 43.08 ±5.25 and 39.66 ±6.72 respectively.

Aim: To evaluate the proximate composition, functional and sensory properties of a complementary food from pearl millet, soy flour and baobab fruit pulp composite flours.

Study Design: A complementary food was produced from Pearl millet, soy flour and baobab fruit pulp powder (BFP) of various proportions (10, 20, 25 and 30%). Proximate (protein, ash, moisture, fibre, fat, carbohydrate and energy value) composition, functional (Bulk density, gelation capacity, swelling index, water absorption capacity and oil absorption capacity) properties and sensory (appearance, flavour, texture and overall acceptability) attributes were determined.

Results: The results of proximate composition showed that Moisture content ranged from 10.09 – 10.98, Protein content ranged from 9.80 – 24.25, Fat content ranged from 4.94 – 16.65, Carbohydrate content ranged from 43.11 – 71.03, Fibre content ranged from 3.37 – 15.67, Ash content ranged from 2.59 – 2.87% and Energy value ranged from 367.78 – 423.69 Kcal. The functional properties showed that Water Absorption Capacity ranged from 2.70 – 2.91, Oil Absorption Capacity ranged from 1.90 – 2.72, Bulk Density ranged from 0.69 – 0.71, Swelling Index ranged from 0.68 – 1.04 g/ml and Gelation Capacity ranged from 5 – 10% of the complementary food samples. The sensory attribute also revealed that the complementary food samples proved to be of good quality but the controlled sample (A) was most preferred by the panellist.

Conclusion: It could be concluded that the Complementary food was produced from millet, baobab fruit pulp and soy flour. Though, samples were found to be low in protein, fat and energy. The carbohydrate, fibre and ash contents were found to increase with increase in baobab fruit pulp addition. Gelation capacity, swelling index and Oil absorption capacity increase with addition of baobab fruit pulp. On the other hand the bulk density and water absorption capacity decrease with increase baobab fruit pulp addition. The sensory properties indicated that sample A was the most preferred sample.

Most of the products of maize flour fermentation in Kenya undergo wild fermentation in a natural process. One of these is locally roasted maize flour commonly known by its local name Mkarango which is popular in the Western region of Kenya where it is used in different ways. Mkarango is mostly made through wild fermentation which is known to pose health risks as it is unhygienic and time-consuming, with the quality of the resultant product being inconsistent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the population of lactic acid bacteria, and sensory characteristics of dried roasted thick porridge (mkarango). Six different mkarango products made with addition of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis in different ratios were studied for microbial quality, mineral element content and sensory characteristics. Titratable acidity and pH properties of the products were also determined. These were done following recommended standards. After 24 hours of fermentation, products with Yeast+ L. plantarum+ L. brevis (1:2) and Milk+ L. plantarum+ L. brevis (1:2) had the highest pH values (5.12) while products with Milk+ L. plantarum+ L. brevis (2:1) had the lowest pH values (4.8). Yeast, molds, and Lactic Acid Bacteria had the highest in all the samples tested while Enterobacteriaceae the least. The overall acceptability of the product of the product prepared from Milk + L. plantarum + L. brevis (2:1) had the final score of 4.7 on the 5-point hedonic scale. The results of the trace elements zinc and iron ranged from 2.7 mg/100 g to 3.9 mg/100 g and 2.7 mg/100 g to 16.9 mg/100 g on the product respectively. Fermentation creates an environment that is conducive for the population of lactic acid bacteria. This results in increased volume of lactic acid that is responsible for improved nutritional quality of Mkarango.

Aim: The impacts of climate change and variability requires proactive and reactive adaptation. The high reliance of farmers on rainfed agriculture leads to their high vulnerability to climate change. As an agrarian economy, irrigation farming system is an essential proactive and/or reactive strategy for the increasing erratic rainfalls in Northern Ghana. This study analyzed the perceptions of smallholder farmers on irrigation farming and the factors that influence access to and size of irrigable lands among communities in the catchment of two irrigation dams.

Study Design: The study adopted a multi-stage sampling procedure.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the Northern Region of Ghana. The data for the study was collected in 2014.

Methodology: Through a multi-stage sampling, a cross-sectional data was collected from 240 smallholder farmers. These included both irrigation farmers and non-irrigation farmers. The data was analyzed through switching regression and descriptive statistics.

Results: The result revealed that water unavailability is not a major challenge to most irrigation farmers. The farmers engaged in irrigation vegetable farming mostly for cash purpose and also perceived a high demand for vegetables, especially in the dry season. From the farmers perception, group membership, distance to irrigable land, cost of irrigable land, leadership characteristics and nativity significantly influenced access to irrigable lands. From the econometric result, experience, farmer group, credit, extension, labour availability and age had significant influence on irrigation farming while education, experience, extension, sex and labour availability significantly influenced the acreage cultivated by the vegetable farmers.

Conclusion: The study concluded that, while there is high market potential for irrigated produce, access to and the size of irrigable lands are significantly determined by a mixed of factors. Therefore, while farmers are encouraged to go into irrigation vegetable production, government’s policies such as ‘one village one dam’ should be effectively implemented to realize the needed results.