ABSTRACT
Kunu is non-alcoholic beverage commonly consumed in the Northern Nigeria during the dry season. Five research objectives guided the study. The study used an experimental research design to produced four samples of kunu drink (T3 = 70% Guinean corn + 30% tigernut, T5 = 50% tigernut + 50% guinea corn, T7 = 30% guinea corn + 70% tigernut and G1 = 100% guinea corn) and then carried out chemical evaluation on the samples using conventional laboratory methods. The result showed that the kunu sample (T7) had significantly higher moisture content (P<0.05) of 84.03%, high protein content of 7.83%, and significantly (P<0.05) low carbohydrate content of 0.27%. The result on mineral content showed that Ca, Mg, Fe and K significantly (P<0.05) increased with increase in the tigernut content of the kunu. The result showed that the kunu sample (T7) recorded significantly (P<0.05) higher values for vitamin A (2.42µg/100g), vitamin B1 (3.08µg/100g), vitamin B2 (1.09µg/100g), vitamin C (28.62µg/100g) and significantly (P<0.05) low vitamin B3 content of (0.46µg/100g) respectively. For anti-nutrient, phytate, saponins and oxalate content of the kunu-tigernut blend significantly (P<0.05) reduced with increase in tigernut. On the sensory evaluation, addition of tigernut to the blend significantly improved the flavor, taste and mouth feel of the kunu blend. The study concluded that blending guinea corn and tigernut in the kunu production significantly improved its nutrient content as well as reduce its anti-nutrient levels. The beverage can therefore be included as one of refreshing drinks for consumption by children and adults to add to their daily nutrient intake. The study therefore recommended that guinea corn – tigernut kunu blend should be introduced to the Nigerian markets to add to improvement in nutritional content of the product.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS v
LIST OF TABLES viii
ABSTRACT x
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.0
Background of the Study 1
1.1 Statement of the Problem 4
1.2 Objectives of the Study 5
1.3 Significance of the Study 5
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Kunu 7
2.2 Guinea Corn (Sorghum) 9
2.2.1 Nutrient Composition of Guinea Corn
(Sorghum) 11
2.3 Tiger Nut 14
2.3.1 Types of Tigernut 15
2.3.2 Nutritional Composition of Tigernut 16
2.3.3 Tigernut Milk 19
2.3.4 Health Benefits of Tigernut 21
2.3.5 Sensory Evaluation 22
CHAPTER 3
MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Research Design 27
3.2 Raw Materials Collection and
Identification 27
3.3 Sample Preparation 27
3.4 Chemical Analysis 29
3.5 Sensory characteristics of the Kunu Blend 37
3.6 Statistical analysis 37
CHAPTER
4
RESULTS
AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Chemical Properties
of the Guinea Corn – Tigernut Kunu Blend 38
4.1.1 Proximate
Composition of the Guinea Corn –Tigernut Kunu Blend 38
4.1.2 Vitamin Composition of the Guinea Corn –Tigernut Kunu Blend 42
4.1.3 Mineral Composition of the Guinea Corn –Tigernut Kunu Blend 44
4.1.4 Anti-Nutrient Composition of the Guinea Corn –Tigernut Kunu Blend 46
4.2 Sensory Attributes of the Guinea Corn – Tigernut
Kunu Blend 48
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion 50
5.2 Recommendations 51
References 52
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1
Proximate composition (%) of guinea corn – tigernut kunu blend 41
Table 4.2 Vitamin
composition (mg/100g) of guinea corn – tigernut kunu blend 44
Table 4.3 Mineral
composition (mg/100g) of guinea corn – tigernut kunu blend 46
Table 4.4 Anti-Nutrient composition
(mg/100g) of guinea corn – tigernut kunu
blend 48
Table 4.5 Sensory attributes of the guinea
corn – tiger nut kunu blend 49
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of the Study
Man cannot survive without water for a
long period of time, as normal functioning of the body requires a continual
supply of fluid in various forms including beverages. Beverages are food items
that are consumed in liquid state, but have lower food values relative to milk
and milk products. They are consumed either for their thirst quenching
properties or for their stimulating effects. They may exist as liquid or thin
gruel preparation with high water content which supplies the body with water
necessary to maintain health. Often consumed beverages include beer, wine,
spirits, fruit juices, tea, coffee, cocoa drink, and carbonated water. It is
easier to consume a large volume of beverages than the same volume of water.
Artisans, traders, market women, commercial drivers
and children drink home-prepared beverages frequently while working under
tropical heat to quench thirst. Kunu is non-alcoholic beverage commonly
consumed in the Northern Nigeria during the dry season (Adeyemi and Balogh,
2014).
Kunu popularly known as Kunu is one of the drinks produced
from cereal grains in Nigeria, particularly the northern part of the country.
It is produced from grains such as maize, millet and sorghum. The relative
abundance of any of these in any locality determines to a large extent the type
of grain for making the beverage. Over the years, people of different ages have
enjoyed its refreshing taste. This taste is admired not only by the resource
poor populace but also the well to do. It is cheap since it is produced from
local sourced materials which are readily available. Consequently, the drink
serves as alternative to carbonated drinks in social gatherings and during
religious festivities (Elmahmood and Doughari, 2007).
Obadina et al. (2008) observed that kunu zaki is now widely consumed
in the Southern parts among low and middle income workers who cannot afford
industrial beverages. The beverage is characterized by sweet-sour taste,
creamy, refreshing quality as well as its flowing consistency (Obadina et al., 2008). They may exist as liquid
or thin gruel preparation with high water content which supplies the body with
water sufficient to maintain health. Kunu is the generic name for all
kinds of non-alcoholic beverages that are cereal based with specifications
usually attached to denote the base cereal grain (Nahemiah et al., 2014).
There are various types of kunu processed
and consumed in Nigeria. These include kunu zaki, kunu gyada, kunu akamu,
kunu tsamiya, kunu baule, kunu jiko, ashamu and kunu gzakimba. Of
these, kunu zaki is the most widely produced and consumed. Kunu are
made from sorghum, maize, millet, guinea corn or rice. Spices such as ginger,
alligator pepper, red pepper and black pepper are added as flavour and taste
improver (Adebayo and Idowu, 2003).
Akoma et
al. (2006) reported that kunu have immense social, economic and
medicinal importance to its numerous consumers. It is relatively cheap and
nutritious when compared to carbonated drinks. It contains all the essential
nutrients such as carbohydrates, fat, protein, minerals and vitamins (Ugwuanyi et al.,
2015). According to Elmahmood et al.
(2007), kunu is produced at village technology level, its production
protocols, packaging and distribution are not yet standardized.
Guinea corn is a cereal crop commonly
known as grain sorghum which belongs to the general class of sorghum. Sorghum
grain is the fifth most important cereal in the world after wheat, rice, maize
and barley (FAO, 2008). In Africa, it comes second after maize in terms of production.
According to FAO (2008) estimates, the average world production of sorghum
grain between 1999 and 2003 amounted to 57.7 million tonnes per year from 42.6
million hectares of land. It has been an important staple food in the semi-arid
tropics of Asia and Africa for centuries. This crop is still the principal
source of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals for millions of people in
Africa (Okafor and Aniche, 2007). Sorghum is grown in harsh environment where
other crops grow or yield poorly. Sorghum is grown with a limited supply of
water and usually without application of any fertilizer or other inputs by a
multitude of small holder farmers. It is often referred to as coarse grain or
poor people’s crop because it is mostly consumed by less privileged people
groups. Nutritionally, sorghum protein, as other cereal proteins, is limited in
some essential amino acids such as lysine, threonine and tryptophan. Guinea
corn is mostly used in the production of Kunu in Nigeria, however the kunu
produced with guinea corn is associated with low shelf life, low protein and
other essential nutrients which has led researchers into thinking of ways that
the nutritional content of kunu can be improved by blending it with other crops
of which tiger nut is inclusive (Okafor and Aniche, 2007).
Tiger nut “Cyperus esculentus lativum” is an underutilized tuber of family
Cyperaceae, which produces rhizomes from the base of the tuber that is somewhat
spherical. It is a tuber that grow freely and is consumed widely in Nigeria, other
parts of west Africa, east Africa, parts of Europe particularly Spain as well
as in the Arabian Peninsula (Abaejoh et
al., 2006). Tigernut is widespread across the world and considered as a
weed in some countries. It is cultivated in many parts of Ghana in commercial
quantities for its edible tubers and for the purposes of medication (Sanful,
2009). Tigernut are mainly composed of carbohydrate and fats, with a low
protein content (Codina-Torella et al., 2014). Tigernut milk is a water
extract of Tigernut and may be consumed sweetened or unsweetened.
The present study will therefore delve
into a production of Kunu using guinea corn and tiger nut blend to boost its
nutritional content. The kunu produced will be made to undergo both proximate
and sensory analysis.
1.1 Statement
of the Problem
Currently in Nigeria, soft drinks are very
expensive to buy. A bottle of 50cl of soft drink now costs an average price of N150.00. The soft drinks have little or no
nutritive value because they contained high concentration of sugar and
artificial concentrates which are detrimental to health when consumed in large
quantities (The Nation, 2020). This present situation has however necessitated
the consumption of locally produced food drinks that will not only be
affordable for the common man but also will be able to meet the nutrient
requirements of people of various age groups who will be consuming them.
Kunu is a highly nutritious drink with
relatively low cost of production. It is being prepared from our local cereals
which are very common and are part of our stable food substances. Past research
have shown that kunu even though nutritious has low shelf life along with
shortage of some necessary nutrients such as protein and this has necessitated
the addition of other nutritious food substances in the production of kunu so
as to augment for the nutrient deficit (Adedayo, 2018), thus the addition of
tigernut to the blend in this study.
1.2
Objectives of the Study
The main objective of the study is to:
i.
produce kunu drink with a blend of guinea corn and tiger nut
ii.
evaluate the proximate (moisture, protein, ash, fat, crude,
fiber, carbohydrate and energy content) composition of the guinea corn-tigernut
kunu blend
iii.
determine the mineral (Ca, Na, Mg, K and Fe) and vitamin (A,
B1, B2, B3 and C) composition of the guinea corn-tigernut kunu blend
iv.
determine the anti-nutrient (tannin, Phytate, saponin and
oxalate) composition of the guinea corn-tigernut kunu blend
v.
assess the sensory attributes of the guinea corn-tigernut
kunu blend
1.3
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will be of
immense benefit to the following categories of individuals; nutritionist, the
food drink industry, low income households and researchers.
The nutritionist will benefit from the
findings of this research as they will get a better knowledge of the nutrient
content of kunu food drink as well as that of guinea corn-tigernut kunu blend.
This will aid them in giving nutrition advice when it comes to food drink
consumption.
The food drink industry will benefit
greatly from the findings of this research work as it will help them identify
other sources of food drinks that require low cost production as well as
contain the necessary nutrients. This will in turn facilitate the production of
food drinks that are affordable for even people in low income households.
Low income households are a major
characteristics of developing countries like Nigeria, and this set of
households are always in search of low cost foods and food drinks, that will
help to meet their daily nutrient needs and at the same time very affordable.
This study will therefore help to throw more light on the use of locally
available food sources to produce kunu that will meet the nutrient needs of
these low income households and still be affordable.
Finally researchers will benefit greatly
from this research as it will help to bridge the gap that exist in the area of
literature on the use of guinea corn for the production of kunu as well as the
chemical and sensory attributes of kunu made from guinea corn tigernut blend.
It is expected that the findings of this
study will fill the gap that the soft drink industry has created in the area of
high cost and low nutrient.
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