Quality Evaluation of Ready-to-Eat Flakes from Malted Yellow Maize, Defatted Groundnut and Sweet Orange Peel Composite Flour Blends

Abstract

The study produced and evaluated ready-to-eat (RTE) Flakes from blends of malted yellow maize, defatted groundnut and sweet orange peel flours with the following formulation:MM1 (100:0:0%), MGS1 (90:5:5%), MGS2 (80:15:5%), MGS3 (70:25:5%), MGS4 (60:35:5%) and MGS5 (50:45:5%). Sample MM1 served as control. The samples were analyzed for their chemical, mineral, antioxidant, functional and sensory qualities using standard methods. The proximate composition of the RTE Flakes revealed a significant (p<0.05) increase in moisture (8.47-9.36%), ash (1.35-2.19%), crude fibre (4.12-5.31%), lipids (1.27-1.92%), protein (9.81-18.56) with a decrease in carbohydrate content (74.98-62.66%) as substitution with defatted groundnut increased. The mineral content of the RTE Flakes ranged from: calcium (42.80-72.88mg/100g), Potassium (70.12-122.63mg/100g), Zinc (2.49-5.69mg/100g) and Iron (4.06-9.55mg/100g). The antioxidant assay revealed 41.07-25.85% for DPPH, 66.71-38.19% for ABTs and 4.09-7.79mg/100g for FRAP. Sensory evaluation showed highest preference for sample MM1 (Control) followed by MGS4, MGS2, MGS1, MGS3 and then MGS5 in that order.  However, all the samples were acceptable generally by the panelists. This study therefore demonstrated that malted yellow maize, defatted groundnut and sweet orange peel flour can be used for the development and production of RTE Flakes with improved nutritional and sensory attributes.