Chemical and Sensory Evaluation of African Breadfruit (Treculia africana) Seeds Processed with Alum and Trona

Abstract

The effect of aluminum sulphate (alum) and sodium sesquicarbonate (trona) on the chemical and sensory qualities of African breadfruit seeds (ABFS) was studied. ABFS were steeped in (0 – 2.0%) alum concentrations for 24 h. The seeds were parboiled, dehulled and then cooked with (0 – 2.0%) trona concentrations for 90 min. The chemical composition (proximate, energy, pH and titratable acidity) and sensory qualities of these samples were analyzed alongside the control (raw dehulled ABFS). The results showed that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the control and the processed samples as well as among the processed samples. There were significant (p < 0.05) increases in moisture (8.81 – 32.02%), ash (3.22 – 6.43%) and pH (6.97 – 7.64) contents as the concentration of alum and trona increased, whereas crude protein, fat, crude fibre, carbohydrate and total titratable acidity decreased with increase in the concentration of trona. However, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the colour of the cooked samples. ABFS sample cooked with 1.5% trona concentration was rated highest (7.02) in overall acceptability.

Keywords: African breadfruit seeds, alum, trona, steeping, cooking, chemical composition, sensory quality.