TITLE:
Effect of Plant Ash on Nutrient Quality and Antioxidant Activity of African Yam Bean Seed Porridge in Relation to Cooking Time
AUTHORS:
Anthony N. Ukom, Faith C. Egejuru, Philippa C. Ojimelukwe, Ugwuona U. Fabian
KEYWORDS:
African Yam Bean, Plant Ash Porridge, Cooking Time, Nutrient Quality, Antioxidant Activity, Sensory Acceptability
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.11 No.7,
July
9,
2020
ABSTRACT: The present study aimed to investigate the nutrient quality, antioxidant
activity and sensory acceptability of hard-to-cook African yam bean (AYB) seeds
cooked for 5 h
(control) and for 2 h with plant ash. The plant ash were unripe plantain peel
ash (UPA), corn cob ash (CCA) and UPA and CCA mixture. Standard methods of
Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) were used for the proximate and mineral analysis, DPPH,
ABTS and FRAP assays were used to investigate the antioxidant activity. A
completely randomized design with one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used
for data analysis. The results showed that
cooking of AYB seeds for 2 h with 8 g/100mL plant ash solution improved the nutrient contents, antioxidant activity
and sensory scores of the porridge. Higher values of proteins, ash and energy
were obtained in 8 g/100mL
UPA/CCA and in 8 g/100mL
CCA additives. However, moisture, fat and fibre contents were not affected by
plant ash additives and were higher in 5 h cooked porridge. Cooking with 8 g/100mL plant ash solution
for 2 h significantly increased mineral elements in the porridge. Phenolic
compounds (total polyphenols and flavonoids), and antioxidant activity (DPPH,
ABTS and FRAP) showed higher values with plant ash additives. This study
reveals that addition of plant ash did not only reduce the cooking time of AYB
seed by 60%, but also improved the nutrient quality, antioxidant activity and
sensory acceptability.