Asian Food Science Journal

Aims: The current study targets the achievement of a reliable process for the determination of PAH contents in kola nuts for better appreciation of the risks incurred from the consumption of such food products.

Study Design: Kolanuts collected from two big storage centers were analyzed after the validation of the proposed analytical method.

Place and Duration of Study: Central Laboratory for Food Hygiene and Agro-Industry, LANADA in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, running 2018.

Methodology: Two references were used for the validation of the analytical method, namely the French standard NF V 03-110 and the ISO directive ISO/DIS/15753 applicable in Liquid Chromatography. The PAH contents of some samples collected from different stores were then determined.

Results: From the data, a significant regression chart was recorded for the PAH detection graphs. All the analysis exhibited good linearity with significant correlation coefficients (R²˃ 0.99). The relative standard deviations of the repeatability and reproducibility assays are below 3%, whereas standard additions of PAH are fully recovered, with percentages close to 100%.

Conclusion: Using this analytical method, kola nuts contamination by PAH have been determined with satisfactory.This analytical method could help in ensuring effective sanitary control at different critical points of kola nut distribution channel for promoting a good management of the toxicity concerns in such products.

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.

Biscuits were produced from wheat, African walnut and Moringa seed flour blends and chemical, physical, in-vitro protein digestibility, ant-nutrient and sensory properties of the products were evaluated. Chemical compositions of the biscuit samples revealed that sample E was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in ether extract (30.16%) and ash (4.20%) while sample F had a significantly higher protein content of 11.41%. The weight of the biscuit samples increased with increasing substitution levels with Moringa seed flour from 9.73–12.08 g. The heights of the samples were not affected by substitution levels. In-vitro protein digestibility values of the biscuits showed remarkable improvement from 11.03% for the control sample to 69.03% for sample E. Anti-nutrient content of the formulated biscuits showed that oxalate had values ranging from 18.68–35.71mg/100g, phytate 0.61–9.21mg/100g, saponin 0.46–8.41%, trypsin inhibitor 2.31–6.80mg/100g, tannin 18.68–35.71 mg/100g and cyanide 0.02–0.44mg/100g. Sensory evaluation scores showed decreasing values in flavour and overall acceptability with increased levels of substitution with Moringa seed flour (7.5–10%) in the biscuit formulation. Although, these substitution levels led to an improvement in protein content, fibre and protein digestibility of the biscuit samples.

Aims: The objective of this work was to contribute to the valorization of 3 local cucurbit oilseeds species grown in 2 producing regions of Côte d’Ivoire, namely the Kabadougou and the Moronou. Thus, a comparative study on the main nutritive and bioactive compounds of these cucurbits was conducted.

Methodology: Mature dried seeds of Citrullus lanatus sp, Lagenaria siceraria Molina Standl, and Cucumeropsis mannii Naudin, locally named respectively Wlewle, Bebou and Nviele, were collected in the 2 regions, dehulled and processed for analyses. Standard procedures of AOAC, AFNOR and FAO were used for the determination of the nutritive and bioactive compounds.

Results: Wlewle species exhibited the highest content of lipids (51.07±1.32%), energy caloric value (584.05±4.13 kcal/), polyphenols (141±23.97) and flavonoids (0.19±0.02) content. Nviele species had the highest protein (38.90±0.93%) and reducing sugar (70.62±1.03 mg/100 g) content. Bebou species exhibited the highest ash content (3.91±0.38%) and total soluble sugars (3.42±0.19%). Flavonoids content was similar for each species regardless of the region. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed (p< 0.01) that energy caloric and lipid were directly correlated but conversely with protein. Direct correlation was also observed between polyphenols and lipid content in Wlewle and Nviele varieties, while in the Bebou, this trend was observed with protein. Despite their small shape, Wlewle species provide higher caloric energy upon consumption.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of oven drying on the proximate composition and rehydration characteristics of shellfish. Shellfish studied included rough and smooth periwinkle, oyster and whelk. Proximate composition of the fresh samples were determined. Then dried in the oven to a moisture content of 10% and further rehydrated with distill water in sample water ratio of 1:40 and allowed to equilibrate. Proximate composition of the fresh shellfish showed that moisture content ranged from 82.38 to 69.24% with fresh smooth periwinkle having the highest moisture value while whelk had the lowest. The results also showed that whelk had the highest values for ash (2.92%), crude protein (18.83%) and crude fibre (3.71%) when compared to other samples. On rehydration, a moisture loss of 11.75%, 13.28%, 19.24% and 22.04% were observed for rough periwinkle, smooth periwinkle, oyster and whelk, respectively. The results for rehydration indices revealed that dehydration ratio was significantly (p<0.05) high for whelk (1.44), followed by oyster (1.29), rough periwinkle (1.23) and lastly, smooth periwinkle 1.20. Rehydration ratio of whelk (1.47) was equally significantly higher, followed by oyster (1.33) and the least were rough and smooth periwinkle (1.17). For coefficient of reconstitution, oyster recorded the highest value of 1.03, followed by whelk 1.02, rough periwinkle 0.95 and smooth periwinkle 0.98. Rate of water imbibition revealed a sharp increase in the water content of smooth periwinkle up to 240 min and thereafter, it slowed down until equilibrium was reached. In terms of rough periwinkle, oyster and whelk; water imbibition took place with rehydration time up to 300 min, 210 min and 270 min, respectively, thereafter they slowed down. The results have demonstrated that the rate in which oven drying affect the physical and nutritional qualities of shellfish differs.