ABSTRACT
The study was carried out to produce flour from different varieties of acha and millet. The study evaluated the functional, proximate, mineral, vitamin and starch content of the different flour samples using standard methods. The result showed that acha species recorded significantly (P<0.05) higher moisture content (10.48% and 10.93%) which increased when the acha and millet flours were used to produce a composite flour (11.85%). The study also revealed that the composite flour recorded higher fat content (3.92%), higher fiber content (5.06%), higher crude protein (11.18%) and even higher carbohydrate (88.72%). The study also evaluated the mineral composition of the flour made from acha and millet. The result showed that flour made from acha had higher Fe content (2.71 mg/100g). The composite flour recorded higher phosphorus (93.14 mg/100g) and calcium content (26.75 mg/100g), while the flour samples made from millet recorded higher magnesium content (11.03 mg/100g). The study also evaluated the vitamin composition of the flour samples made from acha and millet. The result showed that the composite flour made from a mixture of acha and millet recorded higher vitamin A (83.95 µg/100g), vitamin B1 (10.26 mg/100g) and even vitamin E (28.50 mg/100g) content. However the result revealed that flour made from the species of millet recorded no vitamin C content. Finally the study also determined the functional properties of the flour samples made from different species of acha and millet. The result revealed that flour made from the two species of acha (exilis and iburua) recorded higher bulk density (0.97 g/cm3), oil absorption capacity (97.90 g/cm3), water absorption capacity (115.50 g/cm3), wettability (297.00 g/cm3) and swelling index (2.49 g/cm3). The study therefore concluded that individually, flour samples made from acha and millet may have admirable chemical and functional properties, however this properties can be improved when this flour samples are used to make composite flour.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certification Page iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
Lists of Tables x
List of Figures xi
List of Plates xii
Abstract xiii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
of the Study 1
1.2.
Statement of Problem 4
1.3 Justification of the Study 5
1.4 Objectives of the Study 5
CHAPTER
2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Millets
Grain Structure and Classification 6
2.2
Millet Production and
Importance 8
2.3 Nutritional
Composition of Millets 9
2.3.1 Sugars and starch 10
2.3.2 Protein
composition 10
2.3.3 Lipid profile 11
2.3.4 Dietary fibre 11
2.3.5 Phenolics and antioxidant capacity 12
2.3.6 Starch digestibility 13
2.3.7 Functional properties of Millet 14
2.4 Traditional Processing Techniques of Millet
Grain/ Flour 15
2.5 Factors
Affecting Millet Consumption 17
2.6 Acha
(White Fonio) 17
2.6.1 Origin and Description
18
2.6.2
Nutritional Value of Acha 21
2.7 Flour 24
CHAPTER
3: MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Source
of Materials 25
3.2 Sample
Preparation 27
3.2.1 Production
of Millet flour 27
3.2.2 Production
of Acha (white and fonio) flour 29
3.3 Method
of Analysis 31
3.3.1 Proximate
composition Millet and Acha Flour Samples 31
3.3.1.1 Determination of moisture content 31
3.3.1.2 Determination of crude fiber 32
3.3.1.3 Determination of crude protein 32
3.3.1.4 Determination of fat 33
3.3.1.5 Determination of ash content 34
3.3.1.6 Carbohydrate determination 34
3.3.2 Functional Properties of the Flour
Samples 34
3.3.2.1 Gelation capacity 34
3.3.2.2 Water absorption capacity 35
3.3.2.3 Oil absorption capacity 35
3.3.2.4 Swelling Index 35
3.3.2.5 Bulk density 36
3.3.2.6 Wettability 36
3.3.3 Determination
of Minerals 37
3.3.3.1 Determination of Calcium 37
3.3.3.2 Determination of Iron (Fe) 37
3.3.3.3 Determination of Magnesium (Mg) 38
3.3.3.4 Determination of Phosphorus (P) 38
3.3.4 Determination of Vitamins 39
3.3.4.1 Determination of Vitamin A 39
3.3.4.2 Determination of Thiamine (B1) 39
3.3.4.3 Vitamin E 40
3.3.4.4 Vitamin c (ascorbic acid) 41
3.4 Statistical
Analysis 42
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
4.1 Proximate
Composition of the Flour Made From Acha and Millet 43
4.2 Mineral
Composition of the Flour Made From Acha and Millet 47
4.3 Vitamin
Composition of Flour Made From Acha and Millet 50
4.4 Functional
Properties of Flour Samples Made From Acha and
Millet 53
CHAPTER
5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion 58
5.2
Recommendations 59
REFERENCES 60
LIST OF TABLES
Table
Page
No.
2.1. Mineral
content of Digitaria exilis, decorticated and whitened
Macro
and Microelements of D. exilis 22
4.1
Proximate composition of
the flour made from Acha and Millet 44
4.2
Mineral Composition of
the flour from Acha and Millet 49
4.3 Vitamin composition of the
flour from Acha and Millet 52
4.4 Functional
Properties of the Flour Samples 56
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
No.
3.1: Flow
diagram for the processing of Millet
into Flour 28
3.2: Flow
chart for processing of Acha grains to flour 30
LIST OF
PLATES
Plate No. Page
No.
1: Barnyard
Millet Grain 25
2: Pearl
Millet Grain 25
3: Brown
Acha Grain 25
4: White
Acha Grain 25
5: White
Acha Flour 26
6: Brown
Acha Flour 26
7: Pearl
Millet Flour 26
8: Barnyard
Millet Flour 26
9: Packaged
Pearl Millet Flour and Barnyard Millet Flour 57
10: Packaged
White and Brown Acha Flour 57
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Cereals are important sources of the world’s food
supply and their role in human diet throughout the world is extremely vital
cereals such as rice, barley, maize, wheat, sorghum, oat, rye and millet
contribute to diet in the world (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
2009).
Millets are small-seeded grains, belonging to the Poaceae (Graminaea) family (Zhu, 2014).
They are comparable or superior to some commonly consumed cereals like wheat
and rice (Ragaee et al., 2006). Millets
have different varieties, but of interest to this location include pearl millet
(Pennisetum glaucum), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), fonio (Digitaria exilis). Species of this crop
are produced in large quantities in Borno, Yobe, Kano, Sokoto and Jigawa state
in Nigeria (Ogunlela and Egharevaha, 2008). It is the sixth cereal crop in
terms of world agriculture production with an annual production of about
29million tonnes in 2013 (FAOSTAT, 2015). Millet is superior in its nutritional
qualities especially valuable amino acid, higher protein, quality macro and
micronutrients (Shobana and Malleshi, 2007). It is found to be significantly
rich in resistant starch, soluble and insoluble dietary fibers, minerals, and
antioxidants (Ragaee et al., 2006).
It is also a good source of nutraceutical and functional food ingredients in
health promotion due to their anti-oxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory,
antiviral and anticancer activities (Muthamilarasan et al., 2016). Millet has been termed as “nutri-cereals” because
they are rich in vitamins and sulphur containing amino acids with a low
glycemic index and gluten free, allergy friendly food which makes it an
excellent choice for people suffering from celiac disease due to gluten
intolerance (Taylor et al., 2006).
Thus, the presence of all the required nutrients in the varieties of millet
makes them suitable for large scale utilization in the manufacture of flour.
Millet is grown mainly as a staple for human
consumption and serves as important source of nourishment for households. It is
also used in the production of beverages. Millet contains significant amounts
of protein, fibre and minerals such as iron and zinc, as compared to key
cereals such as rice or maize. Millet also contains vitamins and essential
amino acids, as well as antioxidants with various health benefits. They are
slowly digestible and known to have low glycaemic index (Shobana et al., 2009; Singh et al., 2010; Singh et al.,
2012). Regardless of its rich nutritional components, the crop also contains
significant amounts of tannins and phytates, which reduce the bioavailability
of micronutrients (Gull et al.,
2016).
Acha popularly known as Fonio (Digitaria exilis) is a typical West African traditional cereal
cultivated across dry savannah regions along the Sudanese zone from Cape Verde
in the West to the Lake Chad in the East, from the edge of the Sahara in the
north to the beginning of the rain forest in the South (Adoukonou-Sagbadja et al., 2007). Guinea, Nigeria, Mali and
Burkina Faso hold the largest Fonio growing areas and production in West
Africa. About 587,270 tons have been produced on 566 047 hectares in these
regions in 2012 (FAO, 2014). Previous investigations on the dietary role of
fonio in West Africa societies reported that the grain was essentially
cultivated for home consumption in rural areas (Cruz et al., 2011). In production areas, Fonio is consumed by every age
group, three times a day in different kinds of preparations (Konkobo-Yameogo,
2004). In West Africa urban areas, on average the consumption frequency of less
than once a month has been reported for 54% of Fonio consumers
(Konkobo-Yameogo, 2004). In Burkina Faso and Guinea, 4% of people consume Fonio
frequently per week (Konkobo-Yameogo, 2004). In urban areas of Mali, fonio
accounts for less than 1% of the cereals eaten, and the average consumption is
0.5 to 1.0 kg per person annually (Konkobo-Yameogo, 2004). It is mainly consumed
as porridges, couscous, traditional/alcoholic beverages, fatty fonio, salads,
cakes, doughnuts, cookies and bread.
Fonio is reported having good nutritional properties.
It is considered as a rich source of starch and glucidic energy, whereas it’s
content in lipids and proteins are rather low compared to other ordinary
cereals such as rice and maize. Some studies have indicates fonio as the cereal
with the second highest concentration of protein (7.1 mg/100g dry matter) after
sorghum (11 mg/100g dry matter) (Barikmo et
al., 2004). The proteins in fonio grains are not easily extractable and
their digestibility is better than those of sorghum and millet. The high levels
of residue protein in fonio may have important functional properties (Ayo and
Nkama, 2004). Fonio has a high content of essential amino acids like methionine
(4.5 mg/100g), cystine (2.5mg/100g) and leucine (10.5mg/100g) (Fliedel, 2003).
The level of methionine in fonio is twice the level of that in egg’s protein,
highlighting the potential importance of fonio not only as survival food, but
also as a complement for standard diets. Milled fonio contains less saturated
fatty acids than millet and rice and less polyunsaturated fatty acids than
sorghum (Fliedel, 2003). As most cereals, fonio is deficient in linolenic acid
and the quantity of total pentosaneses is negligible compared to that present
in sorghum or pearl millet (Ramessar et
al., 2009). Some species contain less polyphenols than sorghum (Ramessar et al., 2009). In terms of health, fonio
is believed to have a healthy nutrition profile because of its high content in
fibre, low fat content and easy digestion, but this needs to be confirmed. The
glycaemic index is lower than other cereals because of the slow assimilation of
sugars (Fliedel, 2003).
Functional properties of cereal grains are the
fundamental physico-chemical properties that reflect the complex interaction
between the structure, molecular components, and composition and
physico-chemical properties of food components (Chandra and Samsher (2013).
Functional property of food is defined as physical, chemical and/or
organoleptic properties of food (Ubwa et
al., 2012; Kumari and Raghuvanshi, 2015). This study sought to produce
flour from varieties of Acha (Fonio) and Millet as well evaluate their
functional and chemical properties.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
In spite of the nutritive value and potential health
benefits of minor cereals grains such as millet and Acha which are comparable
to that of the major cereals such as wheat, rice, maize; and the different
processing technologies used to improve their edible and nutritional
characteristics, utilization of millet grains as food is still mainly limited
to populations in rural areas at the household level. This is due to lack of
innovative millet processing technologies to provide easy-to-handle, ready
to-cook or ready-to-eat, and safe food and beverage products at a commercial
scale that can be used to feed large populations in urban areas (Ushakumari et al., 2004). However, with an increasing
population and thus increasing demands for food, feed, and fuel, society will
be pressed to increase agricultural production—whether by increasing yields on
already cultivated lands or by cultivating currently natural areas—or to change
current crop consumption patterns (Licker et
al., 2010). Moreover, diversification of food production must be encouraged
both at national and household levels in tandem with increasing yields.
Providing more healthy and traditional whole-grain and multi-grain substitutes
for refined carbohydrates can be one important aspect of therapeutic dietary
modification and promoting utilization of minor-grain foods (Singh and
Raghuvanshi, 2012).
1.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
The success of this study will lead to the availability
of a new acha and millet based flour. This could have far-reaching positive
consequences on several aspects of the socio-economic landscape of the study
area; e.g. (i) Use of otherwise unproductive or fallow land to cultivate millet
for the manufacture of the food product, due to the minimal requirements for
acha and millet cultivation in the study area; (ii) job creation within the
millet and acha producing communities, leading to improvements of these
communities; and (iii) implementation of supply chains to ensure the continuous
availability of the raw material and product. Finally the study will create
additional data for the poor literature in use of minor cereals such as millet
and acha for the production of flour.
Additional processing and preparation methods are
needed to enhance the bioavailability of the micronutrients and to improve the
quality of cereal crops. Manufacturing millet and acha food products that
deliver convenience, taste, texture, colour and shelf-stability at economical
cost for poor people is needed. In addition, for promoting utilization of minor
cereal grains in urban areas to open new markets for farmers to improve their
income, developing highly improved products from these cereals is needed. Based
on the above premise, this study sought to produce flour from varieties of Acha
(Fonio) and Millet as well evaluate their functional and chemical properties.
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main aim of the study was to
produce flour from different varieties of acha and millet.
The specific objectives of the study were
to:
i. evaluate the functional properties of flour
produced from Acha and Millet
ii. evaluate the chemical composition of flour
produced from Acha and Millet
iii. determine the mineral and vitamins content
of flour produced from Acha and Millet
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