Functional, Digestibility, Microbial and Sensory Property of Porridge Produced from Acha-Unripe Plantain Flour Blends Supplemented with Malted Soybean Flour

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the quality attributes of flour blends and porridge produced from acha, unripe plantain, and malted soybean. The unripen plantain flour was substituted (0.5.10.15.20.25.30%) into the acha flour at the preliminary stage to determine the most preferred flour blends which formed the base of the research work. The most preferred flour blend of acha and unripen plantain (90:10) was supplemented with malted soybean flour (0,5,10,15,20,25,30%.) The flours were produced, blended in various ratios, formulated to porridges and analyzed using standard procedures.  The average means scores for water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, bulk density, swelling capacity, emulsion capacity and foam capacity of the flour blends ranged from 0.95 – 2.45g/ml, 1.14 – 1.76g/ml, 0.82 – 0.98g/ml, 13.79 – 37.25%, 39.22 – 72.22% and 13.50 – 23.00%, respectively with increase in the added malted soybean flour. The protein digestibility of the porridge ranged from 71.31 to 78.57% and the carbohydrate digestibility decreased from 0.98 to 0.53%. All porridge samples contained detectable levels of microbes ranging from 98 to 140 CFU/ml (NA) and 84 to 127 CFU/ml (PDA). The average means scores for flavour/aroma, colour, texture/taste and overall acceptability of the porridge decreased (p<0.05) from 7.40 – 7.30, 7.25 – 6.35, 7.50 – 7.20, 7.60 – 76.25 and 7.55 – 6.65, respectively. All the produced products are generally acceptable. The average means scores for the appearance, aroma, taste and overall acceptability during the storge decreased from 7.55 to 5.45, 7.50 to 5.45, 7.25 to 5.15 and 7.40 to 6.30, respectively, with an increase in storage duration (0 – 6 weeks). In conclusion supplementing acha-unripe plantain flour with up to 50% malted soybean flour produced a  qualitative  and sensorially acceptable porridge. It is therefore recommended that this blend be adopted as a nutrient-dense food, with optimized packaging to improve shelf stability.