THE EFFECT OF A SPICE ON THE NUTRITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND MICROBIAL POPULATION OF STORED SOYBEAN FLOUR

Abstract

Objective: To study the effect of ethanolic extract of a spice Aframomum meleguata on the nutritional quality and microbial population of stored soybean flour have been carried out. Method: The preliminary phytochemical analysis of the extract of A. meleguata shows the presence of tannins, polyphenols and saponins. The pH, moisture, fat ,crude protein and microbial load were evaluated in soybean flour treated with extract of A. meleguata at different concentrations of 1.0mg/10gm w/w, 0.5mg/10gm w/w and 0.1mg/10gm w/w for a period of 60 days. All the parameters listed above were investigated on weekly basis. Results: Results showed that the pH values of the control and treated samples changed significantly at different concentrations (P 0.05), for bacterial population there was insignificant effect of the extract (P>0.05) while that of fungi was significant (P 0.05). The moisture and fat content occurred within the same range for both treated and the control as they changed significantly with concentrations (P>0.05). Variation in crude protein with concentrations was significant (P 0.05). Conclusion: Comparing the results of the extract with the commercial preservative, sodium benzoate, for all the parameters tested , extract of A. meleguata performed better in the keeping quality of stored soybean flour and should be preferred than commercial preservative. However, this is a preliminary investigation, more work should be done to isolate pure component from this spice and compared with any known commercial preservative.