The aim of this study was to enhance the nutritional value and the functional characteristics of muffins by enriching with chickpea protein isolate, while keeping their rheological characteristics. Chickpea Protein isolate (CPI) was prepared by alkaline solubilization (pH 11), followed by isoelectric precipitation at pH 4.5. SDS-PAGE revealed three subunits with molecular weights of 47, 30 and 85 kDa; representing the globulin fractions, legumin-like and vicilin-like proteins. Maximum protein solubility (83.32%) was obtained at pH 11. CPI exhibited an emulsifying activity index of 25.17 m2 g-1, emulsion stability index of 14.09 min. The foaming capacity and stability were 62% and 94.49%, respectively. Water and oil absorption were 3.65 and 2.30 mL g-1, respectively. CPI was added to muffin batter at 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10%. CPI fortifieded muffins showed reduction in moisture content, which influenced texture profile analysis through increasing hardness, gumminess and chewiness values. Additionally, both protein content and protein digestibility of muffins increased to 22.2 and 94.08%, respectively. CPI-enriched muffins were darker (lower L) with yellowish crumbs (higher b). Finally, preliminary sensory evaluation showed high consumer acceptance for CPI-enriched muffins.

Brown rice puffing (unpolished rice) gives a more nutritious product compared to traditional puffed polished rice and reduces the cost of the product significantly, even though, the rice bran layer resists expansion during puffing. In the present study, brown rice was puffed in a microwave and hot-sand-bed after its pressure parboiling. Pressure parboiling parameters, steam pressure (196, 294, 392, 490 kPa) and steaming time (5, 10, 15 min), along with pre-conditioned moisture content (8, 10, 12 % wb) were studied and optimized for puffing characteristics (puffing percentage, expansion ratio, whiteness index, bulk density and hardness). All the experiments were carried out using a full factorial design. Statistical analysis showed there was a significant effect of processing variables on puffing characteristics. Optimized steam pressure, steaming time and pre-conditioned moisture content for microwave puffing were found to be 303.6 kPa, 14.25 min and 11.6% (wb) respectively, and for hot-sand-bed puffing to be 260.7 kPa, 15 min and 8% (wb) respectively.

Noodle consumption has been increasing in Nigeria as a result of rapid urbanization, increase in population growth, and desire for convenience food. Noodles are produced from wheat our which is not grown in Nigeria. In order to reduce wheat imports and improve utilization of local crops, various options have been developed to replace wheat flour partially or wholly in noodle production. This study was aimed at optimizing the level of major ingredients to obtain the best flour blend for noodle preparation with optimum nutritional quality. Pro-vitamin A cassava roots (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and African yam bean seeds (AYB) (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) were processed into ours. The ranges of these flours, based on preliminary findings, were computed into a central composite design of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to obtain 13 flour blends with five central points. The chemical compositions, anti-nutritional factors, and pasting properties of these flour blends were analyzed and measured. By maximizing total β-carotene, protein content, and minimizing fat content, the predicted model indicated the optimum blend of 70.52% cassava flour to 29.48% AYB flour. The best our blend sample of 69.23% cassava our to 30.77% AYB flour gave the actual value of total β-carotene 6.76 μg/g, with proximate analysis composition of protein 6.17%, fat 0.82%, moisture 8.95%, ash 1.77%, crude fiber 5.09%, and carbohydrate 82.30%. The anti-nutritional factors of the best blend were 8.21 mg HCNeqv/kg, 1.69 mg phytate/g and 0.37 mg tannin/g.

Azanza garckeana is among the least utilized indigenous wild fruit trees of interest in the arid and semi-arid regions of Africa. The tree's fruit and seeds have found their importance as food while their barks and leaves as medicine because of their vast nutritional and functional components. This paper reviews the utilization of the fruit in food processing demonstrating the potential this species has in the preparation of novel foods. There are few reports on macronutrients and micronutrient composition of the fruit and the seeds, and their utilization in food processing. Some researchers have identified key functional ingredients in the fruits as well as their seeds that could be of benefit when incorporated in the production of value-added food products. This paper not only advocates for the production of value-added food products from this fruit, but also its integration into farming systems to enhance nutritional security and provide ready income for communities in the dry areas in sub Saharan Africa.

Tomato is a horticultural crop of interest, that is widely consumed fresh or as processed products. The present investigation was to evaluate the antioxidant indices (total phenolic content, flavonoid content, ferric reducing antioxidant power, radical scavenging activities, inhibitory action against lipid oxidation) and anti-cholinesterase action (acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase) of tomato fruits (ripe and unripe) and  pastes (paste 2 and paste 1) after simulated gastrointestinal digestion. The total phenolic content (mg/g GAE) of the In vitro digested tomato fruits and pastes showed higher values (ripe tomato: 61.08; tomato paste1: 56.02; tomato paste 2: 60.36; unripe tomato: 38.97) than the ethanolic extracts, with digested ripe tomato ranking higher. Similar results were also obtained for total flavonoid content, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and the radical scavenging activities (DPPH*, ABTS˙+, NO*, OH*), with the in vitro digested samples ranking high. The ability of the enzyme digested and ethanolic extracts of tomato fruits and pastes to inhibit iron and sodium nitroprusside induced lipid oxidation in rat’s liver and brain homogenate increased in a concentration dependent manner, with the enzyme digested tomato fruits and pastes ranking high. Similarly, the ability of the in vitro digested tomato fruit and pastes to enhance activities of the antioxidant enzymes (GPx, GSH, SOD and Catalase) and to inhibit the formation of cholinesterases ranked high. The result of this investigation showed that the studied tomato fruit and pastes possess antioxidant and anti-cholinesterase activities that would be bio-available after the gastrointestinal digestion and by implication could be harnessed as functional food.

Cookies are widely consumed all over the world and can bring important nutrients, especially to children. Composite flours consisting of plantain, moringa seed and sesame seeds were used to produce cookies in this study. Response surface methodology was employed in setting up the cookie’s formulation. The samples with the best protein and fibre contents were sample F (71.34% plantain, 6.66% moringa and 22.00% sesame seed, with 14.08% protein and 3.02% fibre) and sample I (68.00% plantain, 10.00% moringa and 22.00% sesame seed, with 14.35% protein and 2.29% fibre). Cookies from 100% wheat flour were prepared as control. The protein, fat, ash and crude fibre contents of formulated cookies were significantly (p≤0.05) higher than control, whereas carbohydrate content was lower. There was no significant difference between the formulated cookies and the control in terms of overall acceptability, aroma and crunchiness. The formulated cookies showed higher biological value, net protein utilization, true digestibility, protein efficiency ratio, net protein ratio and protein retention efficiency than control, resulting in a significant increase in rat growth and development. The composite cookies containing unripe plantain, moringa seed and defatted sesame, at the blending ratio obtained in this study showed better nutritional quality than control cookies. These composite cookies, therefore, would be suitable for mitigating protein-energy malnutrition in children.

Gum arabic is a dried, gummy exudate obtained from the stems and branches of Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal. In Kenya, gum arabic comes from Acacia senegal var kerensis although its exploitation for commercial and industrial application is marginal. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize and determine the effect of the gum from A. senegal var kerensis on the quality characteristics of set low-fat yoghurt compared to gum arabic from A. senegal var senegal, with a view to increasing its utilization locally. Yoghurt was prepared containing gum arabic at four concentrations (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% gum w/v).  Results showed that A. senegal var kerensis gum had higher molecular weight and gelling properties compared to A. senegal var senegal gum. In addition, A. senegal var kerensis gum was less susceptible to syneresis and showed a higher absolute viscosity compared to A. senegal var senegal gum at all concentration levels. Sensory evaluation revealed that addition of gum arabic significantly improved the body and the texture of the yoghurt. Therefore, A. senegal var kerensis gum is a better yoghurt stabilizer than gum arabic from A. senegal var senegal. An optimal gum concentration of 0.6% of A. senegal var kerensis gum in low-fat yoghurt is recommended from the results of this study.

New functional foods and beverages can be developed using bioactive compounds present in pequi oil. Complex coacervation is an encapsulation method used for preserving bioactive molecules, especially those that are hydrophobic or sensitive to high temperatures. The objective of this work was to produce and characterize pequi oil microparticles using cashew gum/gelatin matrix (CG/GE) through complex coacervation. Gum Arabic (GA) was also studied in comparison with CG. The coacervation process was performed withoutpequi oil to determine the ideal proportions of the matrix components, followed by the embedding of the oil inthe microparticles for evaluation. Satisfactory microparticles were produced at pH 4.5 in the weight ratios of CG/GE = 2:1 and GA/GE = 1:3. Pequi oil release was greater in acidic pH, especially at pH 2 for the CG/GE matrix. The encapsulation efficiency for CG/GE and GA/GE was 72.53% (±4.80) and 82.77% (±6.09), respectively. The results showed that the CG/GE combination seemed very promising as anencapsulation matrix, especially for food applications involving pH values higher than 3.

A process for preparation of a microgreen and fruit based beverage was optimized using spinach (Spinacia oleracea) microgreen, pomegranate (Punica granatum), pineapple (Ananascomosus) and sugar. The blended juice in different ratios was analysed for total soluble solids, viscosity, sedimentation, acidity, metal chelation activity, free radical scavenging activity and reducing power. The optimized beverage had, 17.26 mL 100 mL-1 spinach microgreen juice, 57.07 mL 100 mL-1 pomegranate juice, 1.01 g 100 g-1 sugar and 24.66 mL 100 mL-1 pineapple juice. The product was high in nutrients, particularly protein, minerals (sodium, potassium and iron), vitamins (vitamin C), bioactive compounds (total phenols and total carotenoids) and had high antioxidant activity (metal chelation activity, free radical scavenging activity and reducing power). The antioxidants and bioactive compounds present in juice were designed to help reduce oxidative stress during inflammatory cases such as arthritis.