EFFECT OF THE ADDITION OF DEFATTED OKRA SEED (Abelmoschus esculentus) FLOUR ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES AND Zn BIOAVAILABILITY OF PLANTAIN (Musa paradisiacal Linn) FLOUR

Abstract

In Nigeria it is advised that nursing mothers should give their baby plantain flour paste “amala ogede†with ‘ewedu’ Corchorus olitorius soup during the process of weaning their baby. The over matured okra that cannot be cut with kitchen knife are thrown away in Nigeria, this lead to postharvest loss of okra. The seed in this okra could be utilised by processing into okra seed flour for the fortification of plantain flour. Since the okra seed flour is rich in oil and the oil contains cyclopropenoid fatty acids which cause some toxicity concerns therefore this work is to evaluate the chemical composition, the functional properties and Zn bioavailability of plantain flour mixed with defatted okra seed flour.
The nutrient content increased significantly (P≤0.05), protein; 3.88 – 11.38 %, fibre; 3.03 – 16.30 % and ash; 2.72 – 5.77 % while the fat and carbohydrate content reduced significantly (P≤0.05) as the percentage of defatted okra seed flour increased. The bulk density of the plantain flour decreased significantly (P≤0.05) from 0.795 g/cm3 to 0.769 g/cm3 as the percentage of okra seed flour increased while the least gelation concentration increased significantly (P≤0.05) (10 to 20). The calculated [Ca][Phytate]/[Zn] molar ratio for the plantain flour mixed with defatted okra seed flour (0.02 – 0.04 mol/kg) were below the critical level. The increase in the least gelation concentration coupled with increase in the protein content of the resultant flour from the blend means more of the protein will be available in the food made from the plantain flour mixed with defatted okra seed flour.