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Spices and herbs have been reported to be potent sources of natural antioxidants. Spices are known to impact flavour and improve overall organoleptic quality of foods. The use of naturally occurring materials like spices as preservatives has been proved to be a promising alternative to the use of chemicals. The effects of Aframomum danielli and Zingiber officinale crude extract on the storability of fried bean cake snacks were investigated. Proximate and sensory analyses of the snack were also assessed. The fried bean cakes were spiced with 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1% of both spices, the untreated sample was also prepared making a total of 11 samples. Proximate analyses revealed that moisture ranged from 0.85-1.05%, protein 80.00-78.70%, fat 2.09-1.08%, ash 1.50-1.30%, fibre 2.00-1.80%, carbohydrate 10.25-12.75% and dry matter 3.52-2.30%. Sensory evaluation shows that there was no significant difference (p<0.5) among the treated and untreated samples in terms of all the sensory attributes evaluated. Storage stability test also indicated the preservative effects of the incorporated extracts on spoilage microorganisms at ambient temperature when compared to the control sample. There was, with respect to concentration of extract added, little significant difference in preservative effect between samples preserved with alligator pepper and ginger extracts. Conclusively, the fried bean cake snacks treated with 0.2% and 0.4% of both spices were more acceptable generally and stable than the ones treated with 0.6 and 0.8% of both spices. The fried bean cake snacks treated with 1% of both spices were unacceptable in terms of all the sensory attributes evaluated.

Noodles are strips or strands cut from a sheet of dough made from fl our, water and either common salt or a mixture of alkaline salt. Noodles consumption represents about 40% of the total wheat fl our which are mainly consumed by school children. The use of composite fl our has been encouraged since it reduces the importation of wheat. Utilization of locally available, inexpensive materials like cocoyam that can substitute a part of wheat fl our without adversely affecting the acceptability of the product will be a product development. This study therefore studied the chemical composition and organoleptic properties of instant noodles from the blend of wheat and cocoyam starch. Cocoyam starch was substituted into wheat fl our at 20, 40, 60 & 80%. Analysis revealed higher carbohydrate (63.50-70.05)%, moisture (4.54-5.07)% and vitamin A (10.01-30.47) mg/100g, B1 (11.43-32.15) mg/100g but lower protein (4.56-8.79)%, phosphorus (0.34-0.52)%, calcium (1.83-0.98)%, iron (0.15-0.32) % and ash (1.19-3.20)%. The composite noodles revealed higher carbohydrate and mineral but lower protein than the commercial noodles. The sensory analysis revealed that 20% cocoyam compared favourably with the commercial noodles in terms of all the sensory attributes evaluated. This shows the possibility of producing noodles from cocoyam tubers which serves as novel food. This will further help to promote and improve utilization of cocoyam tuber.

As per the records of World Health Organization (WHO), it is assumed that more than 60% of the global population is using the traditional medicine system in order to overcome several health related issues. Recent findings revealed that over 80% of the African population relies on medicinal plant species for their primary healthcare. Due to the unaffordability of conventional dugs, medicinal plants like sorghum stem sheath and moringa represent the key products for both urban and rural populations for their healthcare needs. These plants have found to have great therapeutic relevance for fighting major health problems. The research study investigated the proximate, vitamin C, mineral composition and organoleptic properties of sorghum stem sheath-moringa instant and infused drinks at ambient temperature. The result showed that minimal increases were observed in ash and vitamin C compositions of the enriched drinks with increased inclusion of moringa leaf extract. There was also a marginal increase in mineral contents not significantly improved in the enriched drink. The proximate compositions of the instant drinks were in the range of 0.079-0.232% (protein), 10.88-11.51% (carbohydrate), 0.005-0.008% (fat) and 0.25-0.28% (ash). The vitamin C contents of the infused drink ranged between 0.22 and 0.88 mg/100ml. Moreover, based on sensory evaluation, the sample with 15% moringa flour was most preferred in terms of all the sensory attributes evaluated by the panelists. This improved the nutritional value of the enriched drinks which can replace the laden fizzy carbonated commercial drinks in the market.