PRODUCTION AND QUALITY EVALUATION OF YOGHURT FROM SOYMILK, BANANA AND WATERMELON BLENDS

Conclusion

Recommendations

Table 4.1     Proximate Composition of Yoghurt from Soymilk, banana and watermelon blend     63

Table 4.2     Mineral Composition of Yoghurt from Soymilk, banana and watermelon blend 66

Table 4.3     Vitamin Composition of Yoghurt from Soymilk, banana and watermelon blend 69

Table 4.4     Sensory Evaluation of Yoghurt from Soymilk, banana and watermelon blend 70

 

Yoghurt is a fermented dairy product basically produced from cow milk (Oyeniyi et al., 2014). It is an excellent source of protein, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, folate, niacin, magnesium and zinc (Mickinley, 2015). Wang et al. (2013) reported that the protein, vitamin B12, vitamin B2, calcium, magnesium, potassium and zinc content of yoghurt is higher than that of milk. Consumption of yoghurt has increased around the world not just because of its high nutritional value but of its digestibility and therapeutic properties (Huma et al., 2013).

Utilization of soybean in yoghurt production has been adopted as substitute to cow’s milk yoghurt especially by the low income earners due to the fact that soybean seeds which is the main raw material for yoghurt production is inexpensive (Oyeniyi et al., 2014) and possess high nutritional value and numerous health benefits (Kusuma, 2015; Pruvulovic et al., 2016).Soybean is a good source of minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and phosphorus (Etiosa et al., 2017). Its protein content is higher than that of milk, egg and most legumes (Alam et al., 2018). Soybean contains antioxidant (Pruvulovic et al., 2016) and two main isoflavones (genistein and diadzein) that has numerous health benefits such as cancer prevention (Kusuma, 2015).

Incorporation of fruits in soy-yoghurt has been advocated for (Farinde et al., 2010). Fruits are added in yoghurt in form of fruit preserves, canned fruits, frozen fruits and miscellaneous fruit products (Oyeniyim et al., 2014). Production of yoghurt with fruits increases the market share of the fruits, reduces their losses during peak production times (Ayar et al., 2016), and improve the nutritive value and sensory properties of yoghurt (De-Silva et al., 2014). 

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. Banana is rich source of potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D (Kumar et al., 2012), carbohydrates and dietary fiber (Sidhu and Zafar, 2018). A single medium banana provides its adults consumers with 40 % of their recommended daily intake of potassium (Umadevi et al., 2013). Banana contains about 20 % sugar (Kumar et al., 2012). Hundred grams of its ripe fruit provides approximately 116 Kcal energy value, thus making it a supplementary staple food (Kumar et al., 2012). Banana is also rich in many health-promoting bioactive phytochemicals such as dopamine, serotonin and ferulic acid (Sidhu and Zafar, 2018). Banana is mainly consumed alone. It can also be processed into value added products such as juice (Omulo et al., 2015).

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a pleasant-tasting fruit and one of the most economically important fruit in the Curcurbitaceae family (Gwana et al., 2014). The fruit has both nutritional and medicinal values (Gwana et al., 2014). The pulp of watermelon fruit have adequate dietary nutrients that could be used to supplement diet of most Nigerians which are deficient in nutrients (Olayinka and Etejere, 2018). Fresh watermelon pulp is a source of carotene (Johnson et al., 2013; Gwana et al., 2014), thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, ascorbic acid (Johnson et al., 2013), calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and potassium (Olayinka and Etejere, 2018). The lycopene content which gives the fruit its reddish colour plays a role in prevention of diseases such as prostate cancer (Gwana et al., 2014). In most developing countries such as Nigeria, watermelon fruit is usually consumed alone or processed into products such as jam. 

In developing countries such as Nigeria, lactose intolerance is one of the problems that discourage people from consuming milk and milk products (Silanikove et al., 2015). This, however, results to chronic diseases due to compromised calcium intake (Silanikove et al., 2015). More so, yoghurts produced from cow milk abounds with nutritional components such as cholesterol and fatty acids which are not good for some vulnerable groups such as pregnant/nursing mothers and growing children (Gupta et al., 2016).

Protein-energy malnutrition is a major public health issue in developing countries like Nigeria. Protein energy malnutrition is a range of pathological conditions arising from inadequate consumption of protein and calories (Hamidu et al., 2013). The clinical disorders are either as kwashiorkor (insufficient high quality proteins), marasmus (deficiency of calories) or a mixture of the two; Marasmic-Kwashiorkor (Hamidu et al., 2013). Recent data indicate that severe acute malnutrition including kwashiorkor and marasmus affects more than 18 million children each year, most living in low-income settings (Di-Giovami et al., 2016). These result to high rate of morbidity.

Achieving food security continues to be a challenge as it is affected by a complexity of factors. Increasing food availability is therefore not only increasing the productivity in agriculture, there is also need to lower the losses. Production of fruits in sub-Saharan Africa as of 2014 is approximately at 34.22 million tons (FAOSTAT, 2017). At the same time, post-harvest losses of fruits in sub-Saharan Africa range from 30 to 80% depending on nature of the crop, while globally post-harvest losses is estimated at 30%. However, one of the sustainable development agenda is to reduce postharvest losses of this fruits (Niewiara, 2016). 

The general objective of the study was to produce and evaluate the quality characteristics of yoghurt from soymilk, banana and watermelon blends.

The specific objectives of the study were to: 

Regular intake of yoghurt is an excellent approach to improve human health due to the fact that it contains most of the dietary components needed by the human body. Processing of soybean into yoghurt is one way of addressing problems such as lactose intolerance, cholesterol and fatty acids that are associated with yoghurt made from animal sources. Soy-yoghurt developed in this study will be within the reach of average families as soybean is cheap and readily available; this will in turn contribute to combat protein energy malnutrition in developing countries such as Nigeria. Incorporation of banana and watermelon in the soy-yoghurt will not only increase their market share but also reduce their losses during peak production times and significantly contribute to the consumption of yoghurt from all ages. Aside these, addition of these fruits to the soy-yoghurt will increase its nutritional and sensory properties. This study will bring to light the nutrient composition of the developed soy-yoghurt with fruits. Dieticians in developing countries such as Nigeria will find the developed fruit enriched soy-yoghurt highly valuable in management of lactose intolerant patients and those suffering from protein energy malnutrition. Data generated in this study will be useful to the public, educationists, nutritionists and dieticians. This data can be incorporated into the food composition data of Nigeria so that provision of dietary guidance using such food composition database as a reference material could be more effective.

Health and Educational benefits of soy yoghurt with banana and watermelon blends 

Bananas are packed with vitamin B6, manganese, vitamin C, potassium, protein, magnesium and folate. While watermelon provides thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, choline, selenium and betaine (Olayinka and Etejere, 2018).

Furthermore watermelon in the soy yoghurt contains lycopene which is an antioxidants and studies have shown it may help curb risk of cancers and diabetes as part of a healthy lifestyle. 

In addition to that the lycopene in watermelon may make it less likely that you get sunburned which gives it a sun benefit, also it is of much benefit to the heart because is rich in an amino acid called citrulline that may help move blood and can lower your blood pressure. Studies have also shown that it may help lower the risk of heart attacks (Olayinka and Etejere, 2018).