ABSTRACT
The study evaluated the effect of drying and fermentation on micronutrient composition and sensory evaluation of biscuit made from blends of Hungry rice and almond nuts. Data collected were evaluated and statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 21. Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) method was used to compare the means of experimental data at 95 % (p<0.05) confidence interval. The study investigated the minerals, vitamins and sensory properties of flour blends. From the result on mineral composition of the biscuit samples, calcium content of the samples ranged from 12.13 to 16.16 mg/100g) for UFAA and UNFAO respectively. The phosphorus content of the samples ranged from (90.29 to 125.58 mg/100g) for UFAA and UNFAO respectively. The iron content of the samples ranged from (2.24 to 3.23 mg/100g) for FAO and UFAA respectively. The zinc content of the samples ranged from (1.04 to 2.24 mg/100g) for FAO and UFAA respectively. The vitamin B1 content of the samples ranged from (0.09 to 0.42 mg/100g) for FAFA and FAO respectively. The vitamin B2 content of the samples ranged from (0.03 to 0.08 mg/100g) for FAUFA and FAO respectively. The vitamin B3 content of the samples ranged from (0.29 to 0.52 mg/100g) for UNFAO and FAO respectively. The vitamin C content of the samples ranged from (0.02 to 2.37 mg/100g) for UNFAO and UFAA respectively. Sensory attributes of the biscuit samples did not vary significantly (p < .05) in terms of appearance, taste, aroma and texture. In conclusion, the minerals contents of samples, calcium and phosphorus content was high on sample UNFAO, and low on sample UFAA. The iron content was high on sample UFAA and low on sample FAO. Zinc was low on FAO and higher on UFAA. On the vitamin, sample vitamin B1, B2 and B3 sample FAO was high and low on FAFA, FAUFA and UFAA.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE
PAGE i
CERTIFICATION
ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
iv
TABLE
OF CONTENTS v
LIST
OF TABLES viii
LIST
OF FIGURES ix
ABSTRACT x
CHAPTER
1:
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study 1
1.2 Statement of Problem 4
1.3
Objective of the Study 6
1.4 Significance
of the Study 6
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Almond
(Terminalia catappa) 8
2.2 Chemical Composition of Almond Fruit 12
2.2.1 Protein 13
2.2.2 Lipids 13
2.2.3 Micronutrients
and phytochemicals 14
2.2.4 Classification of Almond nuts 15
2.3 Almond
Seeds or Kernels 16
2.3.1 Almond
Kernels Composition 18
2.3.2 Almonds as a source of energy and
macronutrients 19
2.3.3 Micronutrients 20
2.3.4 Almonds are naturally high in fibre 20
2.3.5 Phytosterols and antioxidants 21
2.3.6 Bioaccessibility of protein, lipid and
vitamin E from almonds 22
2.3.7 Health Benefits of Almond 24
2.3.8 Almond consumption and reduced risk of
cardiovascular disease 24
2.3.9 Description 29
2.3.10 Origin and History 30
2.3.11 Almond cultivation: Climate, Soil type, Tree
and other farm practice. 31
2.4
Acha (Digitaria Spp) 33
2.4.1 Uses
Of Acha 35
2.4.2 Uniqueness
of Acha Cereal Grain Proteins 36
2.4.3 Nutritional
Composition Of Acha 37
2.4.4 Chemical
Composition and Nutritional Value of Fonio Grains 38
2.4.5 Energy
value: 38
2.4.6 Carbohydrates 38
2.4.7 Starch 39
2.4.8 Soluble
Sugars 40
2.4.9 Fibers 40
2.5 Proteins
and Amino Acids 41
2.5.1 Lipids 42
2.5.2 Minerals 43
2.5.3 Vitamins 44
2.6 Starch
Properties of Acha Cereal Grains 46
2.7 Other
Food Uses of Acha 48
2.8 Development
of Value-Added Acha Products 48
CHAPTER 3:
MATERIALS AND
METHOD
3.1 Sample
collection and pre-treatment 51
3.2 Raw
Material Processing 51
3.2.1 Processing of Acha to Flour Sample 51
3.3 Sample Formulation 52
3.4 Method of Biscuit Production 55
3.5 Chemical
Analysis 57
3.5.1 Vitamin Determination 57
3.5.2 Mineral
Determination 60
3.6
Sensory Acceptability Scores 61
3.7 Statistical
Analysis Of Data 61
CHAPTER 4:
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Mineral
Composition of the Fermented and Unfermented
Acha Almond Flour 62
4.2 Vitamin Composition of the Fermented and
Unfermented
Acha
Almond Flour 63
4.3 Sensory
Characteristics of the biscuit 69
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
5.1
Conclusion 72
5.2 Recommendations 72
REFERENCES 73
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1 Mineral
Composition of Biscuit made from Blends of
Hungry
Rice and Almond Nut 65
Table 4.2 Vitamin
Composition of Biscuit made from Blends
of
Hungry Rice and Almond Nut 68
Table 4.3 Sensory
Properties of Biscuit made from Blends 70
of
Hungry Rice and Almond Nut
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Acha
flour sample preparation 53
Figure 2 Almond
nut sample preparation 54
Figure 3 Biscuit
production 56
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Biscuits are ready-to-eat, convenient and inexpensive
food products of digestive and dietary importance consumed by all ages (Olaoye,
Ondude and Oladoye, 2007). They are
nutritive snacks produced from unpalatable dough that is transformed into
appetizing products through the application of heat in the oven (Olaoye
et al. 2007). Biscuits generally have been found to be rich in
carbohydrate and protein. They contain fat (18.5%), carbohydrate (78.23%), ash
(1.0%), and protein (7.1%) and salt (0.85%) as reported by (Okeagu,
2001). Biscuits are generally produced from wheat flour;
which is imported into Nigeria. Fortification of acha biscuits with almond
could improve the fibre and mineral content and add value to the sensory
qualities of food products. Also, the use of almond will reduce its wastage and
create more market for the same.
Hungry rice, also known as Acha (fonio), a tropical
millet native to West Africa, one of the most nutritious of all grains (Abiodun,
et al., 2017) rich in
methionine and cystine, amino acids vital to human health and deficient in
today’s major cereals; has the advantage to be minimally processed which
limited the loss of the native nutritional value during milling (Fashakin, 2006). The use of acha is mainly limited to traditional foods such as
thick and thin porridges, steam cooked products (e.g. Couscous), and alcoholic
and nonalcoholic beverages. Acha can be used for
complementary foods of low dietary bulk and high calorie density (Abiodun
et al., 2017).
Acha (Digitaria exilis), though potentially
rich in nutrients, has been classified among the lost crops with its cultivation
and processing at village technology level. The use of acha as substitute to
wheat flour could have been advantageous with reference to baking qualities
(high pentosan), unique protein (methionine and cysteine), high sulphur, which
are deficient in other cereals and its relative lower influence on blood glucose
level and then subsequently reducing diabetes (Ayo,
Ikuomola and Esan, 2010). Acha has
promising unique nutritional qualities. Nutrition experts have acknowledged it
as exceptional. It has relatively low free sugar and low glycemic content (40%)
and this makes it adequate as a suggested diet of diabetic patients (Cruz,
2004). In-vitro starch digestibility and glycemic
property of acha, iburu and maize porridge has been reported (Jideani
and Podgorski, 2009). It contains
about 91% of carbohydrate. It has a high crude protein content of about 8.7%
and in some black acha samples, may be up to 11.8%, which is high in leucine
(19.8%), methionine and cysteine (of about 7%) and valine (5.5%) of the
essential amino acids. Sometimes considered as “a small seed with a big
promise”, acha provides food early in the season when other crops are yet to
mature for harvest, hence the name hungry rice
(Ibrahim, 2001). It has the
potentials for reducing human misery during hungry times, among the over 2000
crops that are native to Africa, which could be effective tools as well in
fighting hunger in the continent. Acha is known to be easy to digest, and is
traditionally recommended for children, old people and for people suffering
from diabetes or stomach diseases (Ayo, NkamaI, and
Ibrahim, 2007). Acha does not contain any
glutenin or gladines proteins which are the constituents of gluten, making it
suitable for people with gluten intolerance (Ayo,
et al. 2007).
Fermentation is a metabolic process serving for some
microorganisms to get energy through digestion of simple fermentable sugars,
mostly glucose and fructose. It serves as a means of providing a major source
of nourishment for large rural populations and contributes significantly to
food security by increasing the range of raw material which can be used in the
production of edible products. Fermentation enhances the nutrient of foods
through biosynthesis and bioavailability of vitamins (Gabriel and Akharaiyi,
2007), essential amino acids and improving the protein quality and fibre
digestibility (Gabriel and Akharaiyi, 2007).
Almond (Terminalia catappa)
is an underutilized crop which belongs to a group of nuts with hard shell
enclosing a single edible kernel (Ahmad, 2003). The ripe mesocarp of the fruit
is mostly consumed by children as forage snack with the shell and kernels often
discarded (Mbah, Eme, and Eze, 2013). The kernel is also used by many rural
dwellers to fortify the local complimentary foods, which are usually low in
protein. However, the kernels are often of small size and difficult to extract
from the shell and these factors may have contributed to its lack of use in
many areas. It is normally grown in full sun on well-drained soil. The branches
are arranged in obvioustiers forming layers of canopy, giving the tree a pagoda
like shape. It is originally from South Asia (especially India, Malaysia,
Philippines and Indonesia) and even occurs in the West African region in areas
with high rainfall (1000–3500 mm) and elevations below 300–400 m from Senegal
to West Cameroon (Oboh et al. 2009;
Thomson and Evans 2006).
Many
varieties of Almond tree are grown but they can broadly be divided into two
types, bitter and sweet. Sweet almonds tree seeds do not contain amygdalin and
are widely used as edible nuts and food ingredients. Bitter almonds contain
amygdalin, an enzyme, which causes its hydrolysis to glucose, benzaldehyde and
hydrocyanic acid (Salvo et al, 1983). Fixed oil is obtained from
sweet Almond while volatile oil is obtained from sweet Almond tree seeds.
However, this does not imply however that sweet almond oil is made from sweet
almonds. Bitter almonds are thus used for both fixed and volatile oil
extractions (Akpabio, 2012). The
oil content of dried sweet almond kernel is 50-60%. That is bitter almonds has
oil with lower yield 40-45% and sometimes as low as 20% (Akpabio, 2012).
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The inability of the country to meet the industrial
demand of wheat, has caused incessant rise in the prices of baked products like
bread and biscuit which in sequence has resulted into a call for the research
into alternative local sources of flour for baking. Most of the common local
cereal grains including acha, and oil seed plants including almond fruit seeds,
though having similar structure and composition were left in a state of under
development and inadequate processing due to ignorance of the industrialist.
The recent efforts by indigenous food researchers to improve the nutritional
value of indigenous plant sources are timely and appropriate. The use of composite
flours in biscuits making has been reported by many researchers (Olaoye
et al., 2007).
In view of improving food security and nutritional
wellbeing of the people that relies on hungry rice as their staple food and
almond fruit as their fruits thus, this present study aimed at improving the
nutritional quality of hungry rice and almond through drying and fermentation
processing techniques. A number of studies have reported on nutritional
benefits of drying and fermentation technique in terms of increasing the
mineral and protein content and reducing the anti-nutrient composition of food
products (Abdel Rehman et al., 2005;
Hassan et al., 2007; Kouakou et al. 2008).
Wheat
is becoming a rare commodity owing to high rate of population growth and its high consumption rate across the globe. They
are low in protein content, hence their
products have low protein content. Wheat is
considered nutritionally poor, as cereal proteins are deficient in essential
amino acids such as lysine and threonine (Dhingra and Jood, 2001). Therefore,
supplementation of wheat flour with inexpensive staples, such as Nuts and
pulses, help improve the nutritional quality of wheat products (Sharma et al.,
1999). FAO
reported that the application of composite flour in various food products would
be economically advantageous if the imports of wheat could be reduced or even
eliminated, and that demand for bread and pastry products could be met by the
use of domestically grown products instead of wheat (Jisha et al.,
2008).
Considering
the health benefits of almond fruit seeds and hungry rice, their incorporation
as composite blends in the preparation of biscuit may enhance the nutritional
status of the consumers more especially women and children who enjoy biscuit
consumption and will help in eliminating protein energy malnutrition, reduce
micro nutrient deficiency and post harvest losses, minimize importation of
wheat, and promote a healthy society.
1.3
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The
main objective of this study was to determine the effect of drying and
fermentation on micronutrient composition of biscuits made from blends of acha
(hungry rice) and almond nuts. The specific objectives were to
i.
produce flour from dried
and fermented hungry rice and almond tree fruits
ii.
produce biscuits from
blends of the flours
iii.
evaluate the mineral and
vitamin composition of the flours
iv.
evaluate the sensory
properties and the acceptability of the biscuits produced from the flour
blends.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
STUDY
Findings
on this study proximate, phytochemical and sensory evaluation of scones made
from blends of hungry rice and almond tree fruits will inspire the baking
industries into producing nutrient dense food products rich in nutrients
important for normal body activities. There is need to promote the utilization
and production of low cost indigenous foods. The result of this paper will
enhance the population on the nutrient content of the underutilized hungry rice
and almond nut and its application in the supplementation of food. The success
of this work may help to alleviate the teaming nutrient deficiencies through
the many nutrient made readily available in this new product. The incentives for developing low cost
food include changing consumer’s state and prevailing health benefits.
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