The efficacy of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (l). osbeck) peels in the preservation of plain cake at ambient temperature

Abstract

The efficacy of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) peels in the preservation of plain cake at ambient temperature was evaluated. C. sinensis peels were collected from orange sellers in Angwan Rukuba market, Jos North, Nigeria and prepared into aqueous and n–Hexane extracts as to determine its phytochemicals and pH. Samples of cake (A and B) were prepared, Sample A was treated with 5g, 3g, and 1g respectively of C. sinensis peels crude powder and sample B (control) was treated with 10ml of brandy (40% alcohol).The samples were kept at ambient temperature. The sensory attributes of the cake samples were evaluated for texture, taste and flavour using five persons for three months. The phytochemical tests of the extract and the crude powder, showed the presence of flavonoids, Tannins, Saponin, Alkaloids, Sterols and Glycosides. The pH of the crude powder and extracts were 5.6 and 5.7. respectively. Result of Analysis of Variance revealed that, while there was no significant differences (p>0.05) observed in both bacterial and fungal loads of samples treated at various concentrations of the C. sinensis for the first one month, there was a significant difference (p˂0.05) in the microbial loads of the samples at the second and third months of storage respectively. For the sensory evaluation, samples treated with C.sinensis peels were significantly preferred (p< 0.05) than the control for the period of three months. Thus, the results obtained indicates that C. sinensis peels, which is a waste, have preservative properties and may be applied to plain cakes, if all the standard baking conditions are observed.