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Apr 30, 2022Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Proximate and Mineral Composition of Plantain (Musa Paradisiaca) Flour obtained through Different Processing Methods
Abstract
The study was conducted to determine the proximate and mineral composition of plantain (Musa paradisiaca) flour produced using different processing methods. The experimental design was 2x2 factorial fitted into Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). In investigating the proximate and mineral composition of plantain flour, 4 samples of plantain flour were prepared using direct and blanching methods of processing. The plantain chips gotten from the blanched plantain fingers and those that were not blanched (direct) were subjected to sun drying and oven drying. The four samples were coded as SDD (Sun Dry Direct), ODD (Oven Dry Direct), SDB (Sun Dry Blanching) and ODB (Oven Dry Blanching). The results showed that moisture content was low in all the samples which ranged between 9.6% - 10.24%, crude fat content was within the range of 0.45% - 0.84%, ash content was between 1.89% - 2.32%, crude protein was between 1.78% - 2.15%. Carbohydrates, dry matter, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and potassium contents were high ranging from 83.82% - 88.45%, 89.68% - 90.37%, 125.62mg/100g – 153.40 mg/100g, 56.75mg/100g – 74.92mg/100g and 73.60mg/100g – 87.30mg/100g respectively. The apparent increase in these nutrients is as a result of the removal of moisture which tends to increase the concentration of food nutrients. Though, all the processing methods gave rise to flour with similar proximate and mineral composition, there was significant difference (p<0.05) in proximate analysis among different methods of processing. However, to achieve a fast drying and conserve more nutrients, the direct method of processing for both sun drying and oven drying is recommended.
