Evaluation of some nutritional and sensory characteristics of bread-fruit (Treculia africana) cooked with various food-waste ash infusions

Abstract

The local practice of boiling bread-fruit seeds with food-waste ash infusion, while desirous on environmental ground, may affect the nutritional and sensory characteristics of the porridge, warranting this study. Five bread-fruit seeds samples were separately boiled with ash infusion from palm bunch (PBI), plantain leave (PLI), corncob (CCI), groundnut shell (GSI) and without ash infusion (TW). Compared with the control (TW), the recorded range: 11.98±0.57-13.24±1.15% (moisture), 17.64±0.13-18.24±0.57% (protein), 2.61±0.58-2.75±0.03% (crude fibre), 1.90±0.06-2.04±0.06% (crude fat), 3.19±0.17-3.36±0.02% (ash), 60.56±0.06-62.65±0.11% (carbohydrate), 5.10±0.05-5.32±0.07 mg/100 g (calcium) and 6.94±0.02-6.97±0.05 mg/100 g (potassium) were not significant (p>0.05). However, the range 3.58±0.04-4.24±0.08 mg/100 g (iron), 1.8±0.17-4.5±0.12% (texture), 1.3±0.05-4.2±0.06% (aroma), 2.0±0.06-4.0±0.11% (taste), 2.6±0.06-4.6±0.05 (color) and 1.9±0.05-4.2 ±0.17 (general acceptability) were significant (p<0.05). The effect of the various ash infusions on most of the studied nutritional properties of the bread-fruit was not significant, hence, could be negligible. The difference in the iron and sensory characteristics values for PBI sample were significant (p<0.05) when compared with the control and those for the other ash infusions, suggesting the overriding effect of boiling with palm bunch infusion on these parameters. The study supports the local use of these ash infusions and their preference for PBI in preparing bread-fruit meal while suggesting a beneficial use of these hitherto food wastes. The potential of these ash infusions (especially PBI) to improve the iron content and sensory properties of the bread-fruit is nutritionally noteworthy hence warrants further study.