Proximate and antioxidant activities of bio-preserved ogi flour with garlic and ginger

Application and Acceptability of Microbiomes in the Production Process of Nigerian Indigenous Foods: Drive towards Responsible Production and Consumption

In Nigeria, the use of microorganisms for food product modulation, development, and commercialization through biotechnological innovations remains unexplored and unaccepted. The microbiome-based sustainable innovation in the production process of Nigerian indigenous food requires a vigorous drive toward responsible consumption and production. The production process of locally fermented beverages and foods culturally varies in terms of fermentation techniques and is characterized by the distinctiveness of the microbiomes used for food and beverage production. This review was conducted to present the use of microbiome, its benefits, and utility as well as the perspectives toward and mediatory roles of biotechnology on the processing of locally fermented foods and their production in Nigeria. With the current concerns on global food insecurity, the utilization of modern molecular and genetic sciences to improve various rural food processing technologies to acceptable foreign exchange and socioeconomic scales has been gaining attention. Thus, further research on the various types of processing techniques for locally fermented foods using microbiomes in Nigeria is needed, with a focus on yield optimization using advanced techniques. This study demonstrates the adaptability of processed foods locally produced in Nigeria for the beneficial control of microbial dynamics, optimal nutrition, therapeutic, and organoleptic characteristics.

Production of a Complementary Food: Influence of Cowpea Soaking Time on the Nutritional, Antinutritional, and Antioxidant Properties of the Cassava-Cowpea-Orange-Fleshed Potato Blends

Soaking and incorporation of legumes for fortification are essential to a complementary food production process. Cassava, orange-fleshed potato, and cowpeas are sustainably cheap, locally available, and underutilized for food biofortification. This study investigated the effect of cowpea soaking time (3, 6, and 9 h) on different composition ratios of cassava, cowpea, and orange-fleshed sweet potato (CCP) blends (50 : 40 : 10 (EC), 50 : 30 : 20 (FC), 50 : 20 : 30 (GC), and 50 : 50 : 0 (HC)). Each blend was assayed for pH, antinutrient, antioxidant, and proximate contents. Results obtained showed that the CCP blends were significantly influenced by the length of cowpea soaking. Moisture and fiber content decreased significantly (P ≤ 0.05) with increased steeping time (3 to 9 h) for the cassava-cowpea-OFSP blends. The blends were significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) in terms of their protein, fiber, fat, ash, and carbohydrate contents. The moisture content of the EC blend was significantly different from only FC and HC blends, respectively. Six (6) hours of soaking showed no significant difference in the nutritional composition of the flour samples compared with 9 hours. The soaking length optimizes the health and nutrient-promoting factors in the various blend samples while also reaffirming cowpeas as a viable biofortification option for use in complementary food production.

Nutritional Evaluation of Enhanced Unsieved Ogi Paste with Garlic and Ginger

Ogi is a cheap and readily available health-sustaining fermented food in Africa. This study assessed the effect of enhancing unsieved ogi paste with garlic and ginger (2% and 4%) both individually and together on organoleptic acceptability and nutritional changes. These pastes were subjected to seven treatments at ambient and refrigerated temperatures for 4 weeks during which sensory analysis was carried out, and mineral content, total antioxidant activities, and proximate composition were evaluated. Ogi (maize) enhanced with 2% garlic+2% ginger and ogi (sorghum) enhanced with 4% garlic+2% ginger were most preferred. There was no significant difference in organoleptic evaluation of the preferred enhanced ogi pastes compared to the control samples. Crude protein ranged between 7.73~9.19% and 9.83~10.08% for control ogi, and between 7.76~8.36% and 10.07~10.92% in the maize and sorghum enhanced ogi pastes, respectively. The fat contents of all pastes were significantly different at P<0.05. Antioxidant properties of ogi paste were enhanced by ginger and garlic. Ogi supplemented with 4% garlic+2% ginger showed the highest radical scavenging activity (0.75~0.97 IC₅₀ mg/mL). The results show that garlic and ginger either alone or in combination have potential to enhance the nutritional value of ogi pastes, and demonstrate the acceptability of using maize or sorghum as primary raw materials.

Proximate and antioxidant activities of bio-preserved ogi flour with garlic and ginger

Background: Ogi from locally available cereals remains a relatively affordable complementary food in West Africa, but has a tendency to spoil due it high moisture content. This study explored effects of garlic and ginger as biopreservatives in ogi flour. Methods:Ogi flour was prepared from sorghum and quality protein maize grains with different concentrations of garlic and ginger powder (2 and 4% w/w) by fermentation technique. These samples were stored for 16 weeks during which the total titratable acidity, pH, proximate composition, mineral content and total antioxidant activities were determined. Results: The proximate compositions of bio-preserved ogi samples were relatively stable throughout storage. The addition of garlic and ginger slightly increased the ash (0.04%), crude protein and mineral contents (mg/ 100g) of the samples.  Magnesium (10.85-13.13 and 5.17-9.72); zinc (1.37-1.78 and 7.01-8.50), manganese (1.30-1.71 and 0.45-0.86) and iron (1.53-1.77 and 0.68-2.77) contents increased on addition (of garlic and ginger) to maize ogi and sorghum ogi flours respectively. The free radical scavenging activity; total phenolic and flavonoid contents increased correspondingly with the antioxidants activity. Conclusion: Although not well known to ogi consumer, the bio-preserved ogi flours showed better nutritional values and have potential as a health food.