International Food Research Journal 25(3): 1031-1035 (June 2018)

Journal homepage: http://www.ifrj.upm.edu.my

Nutritive and sensory properties of okra fortified instant fufu

1*
Gbadegesin, A. R., 1Odunlade, T. V. and 2Otunola, E. T.
1
Department of Food Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
2
Department of Food Science and Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology,
Ogbomoso, Nigeria

Article history Abstract

Received: 10 February 2017 This study is aimed at fortifying instant fufu with ground dried roasted okra seeds at different
Received in revised form: proportions (100:0, 95:5, 90:10, 85:15, and 80:20). This was with a view to recommending the
24 March 2017 best level of fortification with okra seeds through the evaluation of the nutritional composition,
Accepted: 25 March 2017
some physicochemical and sensory properties of fufu samples. The protein, fat and ash contents
of the samples ranged from 3.64 to 11.13%, 0.37 to 6.29%, and 1.33 to 1.87%, respectively
while carbohydrate and fibre contents of the samples ranged from 65.20 to 76.90% and 10.16
Keywords to 11.80%, respectively. Calcium, iron and magnesium contents of the samples were 30.15 to
43.27 mg/100 g, 2.10 to 3.40 mg/100 g and 19.10 to 26.50 mg/100 g, respectively. The pH and
Fufu water absorption capacity of the samples were 5.42 to 5.55 and 271 to 283% respectively. The
Okra
fortification of instant fufu with okra seed flour resulted in improvement of the nutritive values
Fortification
Protein-energy malnutrition
of the foods. Sensory evaluators recommended an optimal substitution level of 10% of roasted
floury okra seeds.
© All Rights Reserved

Introduction vegetable stew. Because of its far reaching nutritive

composition comparable to eggs (Aminu-Taiwo et
Fufu is a cream coloured semi-solid fermented al., 2014), there is the need for the expanded usage
food product that is produced from cassava. It is a of the seed for fortifying foods such as fufu that are
common staple in Nigeria and some other parts of largely limited nutritionally which could increase the
West Africa. Its commercial utilisation has been cultivation of okra. This study, therefore, sought to
increasing over the years (Opara et al., 2013). Upon evaluate the fortifying effects of ground dried roasted
cooking, the resulting product is also known as fufu okra seed flour on instant fufu.
in South-western Nigeria. Like any other starchy
food, it has very low protein of poor biological Materials and Methods
value. It is a food product that is widely consumed
in traditional households which can contribute to Fresh mature cassava tubers and okras were
protein-energy malnutrition when over relied on. As obtained from Teaching and Research Farm of Ladoke
a result, fortification of the food product becomes Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso
necessary to lessen the symptoms of protein-energy (07°05ˊN, 04°50ˊE), Nigeria. All chemicals used for
malnutrition in those consuming it, most especially analyses were of analytical grade and procured from
in children and some adults as this food remains one Sigma Aldrich.
of the staple foods consumed in most rural areas of
Nigeria. Fermentation of cassava into fufu
Okra seeds are excellent source of protein and The production of fufu was carried out using
amino acids. The amino acids contained in okra seeds the method of Chukwuemeka (2007) with slight
compared propitiously with those of poultry eggs and modifications. Freshly harvested cassava tubers (25
soybeans (Aminu-Taiwo et al., 2014). The protein kg) were peeled and cut into pieces and soaked in
efficiency ratio of okra seed is relatively higher than water for 5 days. The steeped water was decanted after
that of soybean (Martins et al., 2006). Okra seeds every 24 h and fresh water was poured on the tubers.
are also rich in essential fatty acids. In addition to After the fifth day, the resulting retted mash, after
Vitamin B6, folic acid and fibre, they contain some fermentation, was put in a cheese cloth and squeezed
calcium, iron, manganese and zinc (Savello et al., inside water of 15 L to force out the fine retted mash.
1980). Its usage had been limited to the preparation of The fibrous part was removed while the properly

*Corresponding author.
Email: [email protected]
1032 Gbadegesin et al./IFRJ 25(3): 1031-1035

retted part was allowed to sediment overnight and represented like extremely and 1 represented dislike
then dewatered and dried in a cabinet dryer at 50°C extremely.
for 48 h. The dried cake, after dehydration, was
milled to instant powdery fufu using a disc attrition Statistical analysis
mill (2A Premier mill, Hunt and Co., UK). The software of statistical package for social
sciences (SPSS), version 16.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago,
Preparation of ground dried okra seeds IL, USA), was used to analyze all obtained data.
The seeds of okra were removed after laterally All the data were subjected to one-way analysis of
slicing the already washed freshly harvested matured variance while Duncan’s multiple range test was used
okra. The seeds were dried in an electric oven set for separation of means at 95% confidence level.
(Gallenkamp hot air oven, OVB 305, UK) at 50°C
for 24 h. The dried okra seeds were further roasted Results and Discussion
in the forced air oven at 160°C for 10 min, ground
and sieved. Proximate composition
The proximate composition of fufu and okra-
Preparation of instant fufu fortified with ground fortified-fufu samples are presented in Table 1. The
dried okra seeds protein content increased significantly (p˂0.05) with
The instant fufu and ground dried okra seeds of increase in fortification levels. The unfortified cassava
ratio 100:0, 95:5, 90:10, 85:15 and 80:20% (w/w) flour recorded the lowest protein content of 3.64%
were individually mixed using an electric mixer which was lower to 4.23% reported by Adeniran et
(Model KM300, Kenwood, UK). al. (2012) for cassava starch. Meanwhile, the sample
with the highest fortification level of 20% had the
Proximate analysis highest (11.13%) protein content. The fortification of
Proximate analysis was carried out on instant fufu with okra seed flour from 5 to 20% increased
fufu and the fortified samples using AOAC (2010) the protein content by 50 and 206%, respectively.
methods 925.10, 920.53, 920.39, 923.03 and 962.09 This increase in protein content is an indication that
for moisture, protein, fat, ash and crude fibre the fortification of instant fufu with okra seed flour
contents, respectively. The total carbohydrate content could contribute in the reduction of protein energy
was determined by difference (Mbaeyi-Nwaoha and malnutrition which is often associated with the over
Obetta, 2016). reliance on the unfortified fufu.
The fat content of the highest fortified sample
Mineral analysis had the highest value of 6.29% while the unfortified
Minerals (calcium, iron, and magnesium) of sample had the lowest value of 0.37%. This suggests
the samples were determined using Flame Atomic that okra seed flour contributed significantly to the
Absorption Spectrophotometer (Onoja et al., 2014). fat content of the samples. The fat content observed
for the unfortified instant fufu (0.37%) in this study
Physicochemical properties agreed with the 0.35% reported by Hussein et al.
pH and water absorption capacities of the (2012) for instant fufu. The fat content of 20% okra-
samples were analysed using the methods described fortified-fufu sample with the highest fat content
by Adepeju et al. (2011) and Sathe and Salunkhe (6.29%) was not higher than the recommended upper
(1981), respectively. limit of 10% for complementary/composite food
(Odunlade, 2016).
Sensory evaluation The carbohydrate and fibre contents of the samples
Each of the instant fufu samples was poured which ranged between 65.20 to 76.90% and 10.16 to
gradually into boiling water in a cooking pot and 11.80%, respectively reduced as fortification levels
stirred until a smooth paste was formed. It was increased. The reduction in carbohydrate contents of
covered for 3 min so as to cook properly. The samples the samples with increase in okra seed flour addition
were coded and presented to the evaluators for is somewhat beneficial because of its effects on
assessment. The sensory evaluation was conducted protein energy malnutrition. The carbohydrate and
using a descriptive-quantitative sensory analysis by fibre contents of the fortifying agent (okra seed) are
a 15 judge semi-trained sensory panel. The sensory lower than those of cassava tuber.
properties of taste, texture, appearance, flavor, The ash content of the sample also increased
colour, and acceptability were assessed. The scores with increase in fortification level which indicates
were based on a nine-point hedonic scale, where 9 that the mineral contents of the instant fufu samples
 Gbadegesin et al./IFRJ 25(3): 1031-1035 1033

Table 1.Proximate composition (%) of fufu and okra-fortified-fufu samples

Means along a column with the same superscript are not significantly different (p>0.05)

A 100% Instant fufu and 0% okra seed flour B 95% fufu and 5% okra seed flour
C 90% fufu and 10% okra seed flour D 85% fufu and 15% okra seed flour
E 80% fufu and 20% okra seed flour

Table 2. Physicochemical properties of fufu and okra- The water absorption capacity (WAC) of
fortified-fufu samples the samples ranged between 271 and 283%. The
unfortified instant fufu sample had the least WAC
while 20% okra-fortified-fufu sample recorded the
highest WAC. There was an increase in the water
absorption capacity of the samples as fortification
increased. Adetuyi and Adelabu (2011) also
reported increase in water absorption capacity with
the addition of okra seed to plantain flour. Water
absorption capacity had been reported to be a function
of the nutritive component of foods namely protein
Means along a column with the same superscript are not and carbohydrate (Odunlade, 2016). The increase
significantly different (p>0.05) in the water absorption capacity of the fufu samples
upon fortification could be attributed to the increase
A 100% Instant fufu and 0% okra seed flour
B 95% fufu and 5% okra seed flour
and decrease in protein and carbohydrate contents,
C 90% fufu and 10% okra seed flour respectively (Chandra and Samsher, 2013).
D 85% fufu and 15% okra seed flour
E 80% fufu and 20% okra seed flour Mineral composition of fufu and fortified fufu
samples
would increase with okra addition. This is because The results of the mineral composition of fufu
ash content is more of a measure of the minerals in and fortified fufu samples are presented in Table
foods (Pomeranz and Meloan, 2004). The moisture 3. The values for calcium for the samples ranged
of all the samples ranged between 4.75 and 5.90% between 30.15 and 43.27 mg/100 g. The iron and
which were lower than the recommended upper limit magnesium contents of the samples ranged between
of 15% for floury foods (Codex Stan 152-1985). 2.10 to 3.40 mg/100 g and 19.10 to 26.50 mg/100
This therefore suggests that all the samples would g, respectively. It was largely observed that the
not deteriorate quickly as a result of its low moisture evaluated mineral contents significantly (p<0.05)
content (Makinde and Ladipo, 2012) because the increased with increase in inclusion level of roasted
samples were sufficiently dried. floury okra seeds.

Physicochemical properties of fufu and fortified fufu Sensory evaluation of fufu and okra-fortified-fufu
samples samples
The results for the physicochemical properties of The results of sensory evaluation of fufu and
fufu and okra-fortified-fufu samples are presented in okra-fortified-fufu samples are presented in Table
Table 2. The pH of all the samples ranged between 4. The 100% instant fufu and 5% okra-fortified-fufu
5.42 and 5.55. The pH of the unfortified instant fufu samples were not largely significantly different from
was 5.42 which agreed with the range reported by each other in terms of taste, texture, and flavour.
Achi and Akomas (2006) and Oyedeji et al. (2013) They, however, differ significantly in terms of colour,
for fufu samples. The addition of okra did not appearance and acceptability. Sample with 20% okra
considerably influence the pH of the fufu samples.
1034 Gbadegesin et al./IFRJ 25(3): 1031-1035

Table 3. Mineral composition (mg/100 g) of fufu and okra-fortified-fufu samples

Means along a column with the same superscript are not significantly different (p>0.05)
A 100% Instant fufu and 0% okra seed flour B 95% fufu and 5% okra seed flour
C 90% fufu and 10% okra seed flour D 85% fufu and 15% okra seed flour
E 80% fufu and 20% okra seed flour

Table 4. Sensory evaluation of fufu and okra-fortified-fufu samples

Means along a column with the same superscript are not significantly different (p>0.05)
A 100% Instant fufu and 0% okra seed flour B 95% fufu and 5% okra seed flour
C 90% fufu and 10% okra seed flour D 85% fufu and 15% okra seed flour
E 80% fufu and 20% okra seed flour

seed flour fortification level was significantly different

from other samples. Samples with 15 and 20% okra References
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