Effect of fermentation time on the nutritional, phytochemical and microbiological quality of Ukwa bekee†(Artocarpus communis) leaf extracts
Abstract
Abstract
Freshly harvested seedless breadfruit (Artocarpus communis) leaves were collected, washed, sliced into sizes of 2 – 4mm, weighed and fermented at room temperature at different time intervals (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 h). The fermented leaves were blended, sieved and the extracts were further analyzed to determine the nutritional, phytochemical, microbiological qualities and sensory evaluation. Results obtained revealed the following ranges: moisture (96.62 -96.70 %), protein (2.48 - 2.30 %), fat (0.56 - 0.50 %), ash (0.29 - 0.30 %), carbohydrate (0.05 - 0.19 %), phytate (6.80 - 0.81 mg/100 ml), tannin (20.83 - 16.13 mg/100 ml), saponin (0.18 - 0.14 %), oxalate (4.10 -2.07 mg/100 ml). The phytochemical parameters were carotenoid (0.04 - 0.07 %), flavonoid (1.28 - 0.66 %), alkaloid (0.09 - 0.38 %), phenol (0.48 - 0.26 %). Other nutrients were; vitamin C (26.49 - 18.37 mg/ 100 ml), vitamin E (0.01 - 0.03 mg/100 ml), vitamin B1 (0.46 - 0.47 mg/100ml), vitaminB2 (0.28 - 0.57 mg/100 ml) while minerals: magnesium(3.47 - 1.48 mg/100 ml), calcium (0.88 - 0.64 mg/100 ml), iron (0.34 - 0.21 mg/ 100 ml), phosphorous (5.57 - 0.45 mg/100 ml) were obtained. Microbial load ranged from 1.99 - 1.60x105cfu/ml which showed a decrease with increase in the periods of fermentation. From the microbiological characterization, it was observed that the probable microorganisms belong to Samonella spp, Shigella spp, Bacillus spp, Serratia marcenes, Klebsillia spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus spp and E.coli. Sensory scores showed that the unfermented Artocarpus communis leaf extract was the most preferred by the panelists for overall acceptability (7.53). This could be attributed to the colour and aftertaste which had the values of 7.50 and 7.03 respectively.
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Key words: Artocarpus communis, Anti-ntutrients, Fermentation time, Isolates, Leaf extract, Microbial load, Phytochemicals,
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