FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF FERMENTED AND UNFERMENTED SWEET

POTATO-PIGEON PEA WEANING FOOD

BY

OMOTOSHO FUNKE DEBORAH

SO4/FST/2018/2348

A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF FOOD SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY, FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, RUFUS GIWA
POLYTECHNIC, OWO, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF

NATIONAL DIPLOMA (ND) IN FOODSCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

MARCH, 2022.
 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this project was carried out by Omotosho Funke Deborah, in the
department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Rufus Giwa
Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State. In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Award of
National Diploma (ND)

Mrs. Orungbemi, O.O ………………………………......

Project Supervisor Signature & Date

Dr. (Mrs.) Agbaje, R.B ……………………………………

Head of Department Signature & Date
 DEDICATION

This project is dedicated to the Glory of Almighty God and to my parent Mr. and Mrs.

Omotosho through which her moral, spiritual and financial assistance I was able to attain my

dream.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

With gladness and joyous of heart, I give thanks and glory to Almighty God who made it

possible for me to witness the end of this project without any hindrance. I also say a big thanks to

my supervisor Mrs. Orungbemi, O.O, who gives relentless effort and being very supportive

throughout my project activities.

I can't do but also show my appreciation to my HOD Dr. (Mrs.) Agbaje R.B. For being

very supportive, their parental care and love makes this project attain the greatest success.

Also my profound gratitude goes to my parents Mr. and Mrs. Omotosho, who gives

relentless support in terms of advice and financial support in the completion of my programme

(National Diploma), I pray that Almighty God continue to support them in all their endeavors
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page i

Certification ii

Dedication iii

Acknowledgements iv

Table of contents v

List of Tables viii

List of Figures ix

Abstract x

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction 1

1.1 Aim and Objective of the Study 3

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) 4

2.1.1 Production and Consumption of sweet potato 5

2.1.2 Classification and Origin of sweet potato 6

2.1.3 Postharvest Handling Practices of sweet potato 7

2.1.4 Nutritional Composition of Sweet potato 10

2.1.5 Processing and Utilization of sweet potato 13

2.2 Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp) 18

2.2.1 Origin of Pigeon Pea 18

2.2.2 Botany 19
2.2.3 Nutritional composition of pigeon pea 20

2.2.4 Antinutritional factors of pigeon pea 23

2.2.5 Pigeon pea as human food 24

2.2.6 Health benefits of Pigeon Pea 26

2.2.7 Socio-economic Impact of Pigeon Pea 31

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 Materials and Methods 33

3.1 Materials 33

3.2 Methods 33

3.2.1 Preparation of fermented sweet potato-pigeon pea flour 33

3.2.2 Preparation of unfermented sweet potato-pigeon pea flour 33

3.3 Functional analysis of weaning food from sweet potato 38

and pigeon pea flour

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 Results and Discussion 41

4.1 Results 41

4.2 Discussion 42

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 Conclusion and Recommendations 45

5.1 Conclusion 45

5.2 Recommendations 45

REFERENCES 46
 LIST OF TABLES

Table Pages

2.1: The dietary nutrients of pigeon pea 21

4.1: Functional properties of Fermented and unfermented 41

sweet potato-pigeon pea weaning food
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figures Pages

1: Preparation of Fermented sweet potato-pigeon pea flour 34

2: Preparation of unfermented sweet potato-pigeon pea flour 35

 ABSTRACT

Complementary foods are foods that are readily consumed and digested by the young children,
and that provide additional nutrition to meet all growing child’s needs. Functional properties are
the fundamental physicochemical properties that reflect the complex interaction between the
composition, structure, molecular conformation and physico-chemical properties of food
components together with the nature of environment in which these are associated and measured.
Studies were conducted on the functional properties of fermented and unfermented Sweet potato
and pigeon pea to produce weaning food. Sweet potato and pigeon pea (fermented (FSPWF) and
unfermented (USPWF) were processed into weaning food. Functional properties (water
absorption capacity [WAC], bulk density [BD], foaming stability (FS), foaming capacity (FC),
oil absorption capacity (OAC), swelling capacity (SC) and least gelation capacity (LGC). The
functional properties of the fermented sample from the result obtained ranged between 0.74
to137g/ml while the Unfermented ranged between 0.8 to 142g/ml. There was significant
difference (p<0.05) between both the fermented (FPS) and unfermented (UPS) samples. UPS has
high functional composition than FPS.
 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Complementary foods are foods that are readily consumed and digested by the young

children, and that provide additional nutrition to meet all growing child’s needs. Complementary

foods (commonly known as weaning foods) are formulated to satisfy nutritional needs of infants

and young children. A true complementary food would add to the diet nutrients such as iron and

zinc, which breast milk has not evolved to provide for older infants as the child gradually

outgrows her birth stores (Gabrielle, 2009). Weaning is a gradual process during which breast

milk increasingly complemented with other foods that fully meet the young child’s needs. It is a

process of gradual introduction of other foods into a baby’s diet to complement breast milk and

progressively replace it and eventually adapting the child to adult diets (Nkama et al., 2001).

In Nigeria, as in most developing parts of the world, most people depend on plant foods

for dietary needs particularly cereals and legumes. Such legumes like pigeon pea, cowpea,

African yam bean, soya bean among others, serve as good sources of dietary protein. These play

important role in the diets of many people including children. Many countries have exploited

cheap locally available plant materials from cereals and legumes to developed weaning foods

(Nkama et al., 2001).

Functional properties are the fundamental physicochemical properties that reflect the

complex interaction between the composition, structure, molecular conformation and physico-

chemical properties of food components together with the nature of environment in which these

are associated and measured (Kaur and Singh, 2006; Siddiq et al., 2009). Functional

characteristics are required to evaluate and possibly help to predict how new proteins, fat, fibre
and carbohydrates may behave in specific systems as well as demonstrate whether or not such

protein can be used to stimulate or replace conventional protein (Kaur and Singh, 2006; Siddiq et

al., 2009). The food property is characterized of the structure, quality, nutritional value and /or

acceptability of a food product. A functional property of food is determined by physical,

chemical, and/or organoleptic properties of a food. Example of functional properties may include

solubility, absorption, water retention, frothing ability, elasticity and absorptive capacity for fat

and foreign particulars. Typical functional properties include emulsification, hydration (water

binding), viscosity, foaming, solubility, gelation, cohesion and adhesion (Suresh and Samsher,

2013).

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is an untapped food resource that can serve as source of

vitamins (especially vitamin A, C and E), minerals (iron, zinc and manganese), carbohydrate,

polyphenols and carotenoids. These nutrients have biological and antioxidant properties of

interest to human needs (Obiakor-Okeke et al., 2014). Sweet potatoes are mostly consumed in

Nigeria as a snack, roasted, boiled, used with fresh yams in pounded yam and as a sweetener in

beverage production. Processing sweet potato into flour could increase its utilization. Several

researchers reported that addition of sweet potato flour contributes to the flavour, colour and

dietary fibre of processed food products (Woolfe, 2002; Hagenimana et al., 2008).

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) is a nutritionally important grain in the tropics

(Rampersad et al., 2003). It is rich in protein (19 - 26 %) and minerals (Rampersad et al., 2003).

Pigeon pea, though indigenous to many communities in south western Nigeria, is grossly

underutilized and is virtually unknown to many of the young people in the communities. The use

of pigeon pea to improve the protein quality of starchy staples has been reported (Adeola et al.,

2012; Muoki et al., 2012). Pigeon peas are both a food crop (dried peas, flour, or green vegetable
peas) and a forage/cover crop. In combination with cereals, pigeon peas make a well balanced

human food (Akporhonor et al., 2006). Pigeon pea contains high levels of protein and important

amino acids (methionine, lysine and tryptophan).

1.1 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of this project study is to examine the functional properties of fermented and

unfermented sweet potato-pigeon pea weaning food.

1.1.1 Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study include the following:

i. to produce fermented and unfermented sweet potato-pigeon pea weaning food

ii. to evaluate the functional composition of the samples

 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas)

Sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam.), is an important economic crop in many

countries. In terms of annual production, sweet potato ranks as the fifth most important food crop

in the tropics and the seventh in the world food production after wheat, rice, maize, potato,

barley, and cassava (FAO, 2016). Sweet potato fulfills a number of basic roles in the global food

system, all of which have fundamental implications for meeting food requirements, reducing

poverty, and increasing food security (El‐Sheikha and Ray, 2017). Sweet potato roots have high

nutritional value and sensory versatility in terms of taste, texture, and flesh color (white, cream,

yellow, orange, purple). The varieties with high dry matter (>25%), white‐cream flesh color, and

mealy firm texture after cooking are preferred by the consumers in the tropics. These varieties

are known as tropical sweetpotato (e.g., “bianito,” “batiste,” or “camote”). The purple‐fleshed

sweet potato varieties with attractive color and high anthocyanin content are the specialty type in

Asia.

In the United States, the commercially popular type is the orange‐fleshed sweet potato

with low dry matter content (18–25%), high β‐carotene level, sweet and moist‐texture after

cooking. This sweet potato type is imprecisely called “yam,” which is not the true tropical yam

of Dioscorea species. Historically, African Americans in Louisiana referred this moist‐ sweet

potato as “nyami” because it reminded them of the starchy tuber of that name in Africa. The

Senagalese word “nyami” was eventually shortened to the trademark “yam” popular in the

United States. Commercial packages with “yam” labels are required by the US Department of
Agriculture to have the word “sweet potato” in the label to avoid confusion to the consumers

(Estes, 2009).

Depending on the flesh color, sweet potatoes contain high levels of β‐carotene,

anthocyanins, phenolics, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other bioactive compounds. The

β‐carotene in orange‐fleshed sweet potatoes can play a significant role as a viable long‐term

food‐based strategy for combating vitamin A deficiency in the world. Studies in Africa

demonstrated that increased consumption of orange‐fleshed sweet potatoes improved the vitamin

A status of children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers (Van Jaarsveld et al., 2005; Low et

al., 2007; Hotz et al., 2012).

2.1.1 Production and consumption of sweet potato

Sweet potato has wide production geography, from 40° north to 32° south latitude of the

globe, and it is cultivated in 114 countries. The world total production of sweet potatoes was

106.60 million metric tons (MMT) in 2014. Since the mid‐2000s, global production has ranged

from a low of 101.28 MMT in 2007 to a high of 147.17 MMT in 1999. In 2014, about three‐

fourth of the global production was from Asia and Pacific Islands, followed by Africa with about

21%, while the Americas (North, Central, and South) account for about 3.6%. China was the

leading producer of sweet potatoes, with 71.54 MMT or about 67% of the global production,

followed by Nigeria (3.78 MMT), Tanzania (3.5 MMT), Ethiopia (2.7 MMT), and Mozambique

(2.4 MMT). The United States was the tenth largest producer, with 1.34 MMT production. Only

two countries in Europe, Portugal and Spain, grow sweet potatoes, with 22,591 and 13,550

metric tons produced in 2014 (FAO, 2015).

 In comparison to other major staple food crops, sweet potatoes have good adaptability to

marginal growing conditions, short production cycle, and high yield potential. The average world

yield of sweet potatoes is about 14 tons per hectare. Under subsistence conditions in many areas

of the tropics, the average sweet potato yield is about 6 metric tons/hectare, far below the 20–26

metric tons/hectare obtained in China, Japan, and the United States, where improved varieties,

fertilizer applications, and cultural managements have been introduced. The per capita

consumption is highest in places where sweet potatoes are consumed as a staple food, e.g., Papua

New Guinea at 550 kg per person per year, the Solomon Islands at 160 kg, Burundi and Rwanda

at 130 kg, and Uganda at 85 kg. The average annual per capita consumption of sweet potatoes is

estimated at 18 kg in Asia, 9 kg in Africa, 5 kg in Latin America. Between 2000 and 2014, sweet

potato consumption in the United States increased nearly 80%, from 1.9 kg to 3.4 kg per capita

(FAO, 2015; Johnson et al., 2015).

Sweet potato consumption has been greatly enhanced by the wide spread commercial

availability of frozen “French‐fried” sweet potatoes. To accommodate this recent growth trend,

increased modern processing capacity has been built within the southern US sweet potato

growing regions (Johnson et al., 2015).

2.1.2 Classification and origin of sweet potato

The sweet potato (I. batatas L.) is a dicotyledonous plant belonging to the morning glory

or Convolvulaceae family. It is a new world crop, though there is still some confusion that exists

regarding its origin, and primary and secondary centers of diversity. Roullier et al. (2013a, b)

and Grüneberg et al. (2015) have published thorough reviews of this topic. In brief, using data

from morphology, ecology, and cytology, Austin (2008) has postulated that cultivated sweet
potatoes originated somewhere in the region between the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and the

mouth of the Orinoco river in northeastern Venezuela. Recent studies conducted by Roullier et

al. (2013 a, b) incorporating chloroplast DNA and molecular phylogeny analyses confirm this

hypothesis. They also suggest that I. batatas most likely evolved from at least two distinct

autopolyploidization events in wild populations of a single progenitor species most likely I.

trifida.

Secondary contact between sweet potatoes domesticated in Central America and in South

America, from differentiated wild I. batatas or I. trifida populations, could have led to further

introgression. Molecular marker analyses conducted by Huang and Sun (2000) and Zhang et  al.

(2000) also places Central America as the region with the most genetic diversity and probable

origin (Huang and Sun, 2000; Zhang et al., 2000). Remains of dried sweetpotato roots found in

Peru have been radiocarbon dated back to 8,000–10,000 years old, though it is unknown if these

were collected from the wild or were domesticated (Engel, 2000). Regardless of the center of

origin, sweetpotato was widely established in tropical regions of the new world around 2500 b.c.

(Austin, 2008). It was established in Polynesia, prior to European arrival (Roullier et al., 2013b).

Europeans in the 1500s spread the sweet potato to Africa and India, with it arriving in China

prior to 1600. Secondary centers of diversity include New Guinea, the Philippines, and parts of

Africa (Bohac et al., 2005; Roullier et al., 2013a, b).

2.1.3 Postharvest handling practices of sweet potato

Storage

In temperate regions where production is limited to a summer season and marketing is

continuous, sweet potatoes are stored year-round. Varieties have been selected for both low
respiration and low water loss, giving a storage life up to 13 months or until the next crop is

harvested. Careful handling of sweet potatoes is critical to ensure long‐term storage. Bruising

and skinning in the field are minimized by hand harvest or by using a combination of mechanical

and hand harvesting. Roots exposed to bright sun for more than 30 minutes may have a

darkening of skin called sun scalding, which is a cosmetic defect but can also be a site for

postharvest decay. Roots should not be harvested when the weather is too cold. Chilling injury is

a function of temperature and duration of exposure. Temperatures below 10°C will cause

chilling, though cooler temperatures will cause more damage. Chilling injury may not be seen for

weeks after the chilling occurs and can be expressed by various symptoms including increased

respiratory rate, greater susceptibility to decay, surface pitting, internal breakdown, hardcore and

reduced culinary quality (Walter, 2007).

After harvest, roots are immediately “cured” at 29–33°C and 85–90% RH with proper

ventilation for 4–7 days. Curing heals wounds that occur during the harvest, first by a

lignification beneath cells damaged at harvest, and second by the formation of a wound periderm

beneath the lignified cells in a process called suberization. The healing provides a pathogen

barrier and reduces desiccation at the wound site resulting in less weight loss during storage.

Uncured roots do not store well but properly cured roots stored at 13–15°C and 85–95% relative

humidity will be marketable for up to 12 months (Edmunds et al., 2008). Good airflow is

essential to maintain oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange and allow for heat transfer. Cultivars

vary tremendously as to how long they will store and maintain the necessary quality. Curing also

produces changes in the culinary characteristics increasing moistness and sweetness (Walter,

2007).
 Sweet potatoes continue to respire during storage, converting starch to sugar, which is

then oxidized to carbon dioxide and water providing energy for the living cells. Over time, the

loss of dry matter will cause pithiness, a textural defect caused by an increase in intercellular

space, up to the point where there are air pockets in the root tissue. This is greatly accelerated by

warmer temperatures. Once temperatures go above 16°C, the roots will begin to sprout which

greatly increases the respiration rate and weight loss (Edmunds et al., 2008). Large commercial

storage facilities in developed nations can maintain very precise conditions to optimize root

storability and quality. In developing countries, storage of sweet potatoes has been done for

hundreds of years and is still practiced using various pit, or underground storage structures. The

success of these structures depends on how close they come to maintaining the ideal temperature,

moisture, and oxygen levels as described. Storage losses due to rodents, weevils, and rots tend to

be high, and the length of time often limited to a few months (Edmunds et al., 2008).

Packing and Shipping

Market requirements, especially shape and size requirements, for sweet potatoes vary by

region. Where it is a subsistence food, shape, and size are not as important, but where it is a

luxury item, appearance is very important. In the United States, highly mechanized packing lines

are used to grade for strict size and shape parameters. Lines typically start with a tank of water

into which roots are dumped. This wets the roots for washing and allows roots to be metered

onto a conveyor system. Roots go through water rinse to remove soil, followed by an eliminator

to remove trash and small, unmarketable roots, usually accomplished by going across a set of

rollers at a specified width. Roots are then sorted, usually by hand, to remove decaying or

otherwise unmarketable roots. Roots that will be shipped for retail are then generally treated with

a fungicide to reduce decay. This is followed by sizing into various classes, some by diameter, or
with electronic sizers measuring both length and diameter. Roots are put into boxes, and boxes

onto pallets for efficient handling (Edmunds et al., 2008).

Bruising on packing lines can greatly affect shelf‐life of the sweet potatoes, and care

should be taken in design and setup of the packing lines to reduce any impacts. The dump tank

drop‐ offs and onto conveyors, turns, and packing‐line speed and length account for much of the

damage and should be minimized (Edmunds et al., 2008). Market life, which begins when roots

are removed from bulk storage bins, of a sweet potato is generally 2–3 weeks. The most common

disease in storage and packed sweet potatoes is Rhizopus soft rot caused by the fungus Rhizopus

stolonifer. Present in most stored sweet potatoes, it will contaminate packing lines and enter

through wounds produced during packing. Sanitation and minimizing wounds on packing lines is

the most effective control, and the main reason for the fungicide treatment. Care must be taken to

ensure that shipping containers are maintained at 13°C to prevent excessive respiration or

chilling damage (Edmunds et al., 2008).

2.1.4 Nutritional composition of sweet potatoes

All the plant parts, roots, vines, and young leaves of sweet potatoes are used as foods,

animal feeds and traditional medicine around the world (Mohanraj and Sivasankar, 2014). In

Asia and Africa, the sweet potato leaves are eaten as green vegetables. The nutrient content of

sweet potato leaves varies among the varieties, harvest dates, crop years and cooking methods.

On dry weight basis, sweet potato leaves contain 25–37% protein, 42–61% carbohydrate, 2–5%

crude fat, 23–38% total dietary fiber, 60–200 mg/100 g ascorbic acid, and 60–120 mg/100 g

carotene (Almazan et al., 2007, Sun et al., 2014). They are also rich in calcium (230–1,958

mg/100 g), iron (2–22 mg), potassium (479–5,230 mg), and magnesium (220–910 mg). The high
level of phenolics (1.4–17.1 mg/100 g dry weight), anthocyanins, and radical‐scavenging

activities in sweetpotato leaves indicates their potential benefits on human health and nutrition

(Islam, 2006, Truong et al., 2007). Sweetpotato greens are very rich in lutein, 38–51 mg/100 g in

fresh leaves, which are even higher than the lutein levels in the vegetables that are known as a

source for lutein, such as kale (38 mg/100 g) and spinach (12 mg/100 g) (Menelaou et al., 2006).

Novel galactolipids were recently isolated and characterized from sweet potato leaves

(Napolitano et al., 2007), indicating that this leafy vegetable can be a potential source of omega‐

3 polyunsaturated fatty acid. Health benefits and disease prevention of bioactive compounds in

sweet potato leaves have been reported (Johnson and Pace, 2010). The nutrient composition of

sweet potato roots varies widely, depending on the cultivar, growing conditions, maturity, and

storage. Overall, sweet potato roots have a high moisture level with an average dry matter

content of 25–30%. A wide range of dry matter content of 13–45% from a sweet potato

germplasm collection was reported by Tsou and Hong (2002) and Brabet et al. (1998). sweet

potato roots are good source of carbohydrates and generally low in protein and fat. Protein

content ranged from 1.73–9.14% on dry weight with substantial levels of nonprotein nitrogen

(Yeoh and Truong, 2006).

Sweet potato protein overall, however, is of good quality, and the levels of essential

amino acids compare significantly to the FAO reference protein (Maloney et al., 2014; Walter et

al., 2003). Most of the dry matter in sweet potatoes consists of carbohydrates, primarily starch

and sugars and to a lesser extent pectins, cellulose, and hemicellulose. Dietary fiber in sweet

potato roots range from 2 to 4% of fresh weight. Residues from sweet potato starch and juice

processing of commercial varieties are good sources of dietary fiber, 16–36% of dry weight (Mei

et al., 2010; Truong et al., 2012a). Starch comprises 60–70% of the total dry matter, but the
values vary for different types of cultivars. As with other starches, sweet potato starch granules

are made up of amylose (20%) and amylopectin and pasting temperatures are usually in a range

of 60–76°C (Zhu and Wang, 2014). A special sweet potato cultivar in Japan named Quick Sweet

has starch gelatinization temperature of < 50°C and short cooking time. Short amylopectin chain

length and cracking on the hilum of starch granules contribute to the lower pasting temperature

of the Quick Sweet cultivar (Takahata et al., 2010).

Much variability in sugars exists between sweet potato types. Truong et al. (2012a) found

total sugars to vary from 5.6% in a Filipino cultivar to 38% in a Louisiana cultivar on a dry

weight basis (db). Sucrose, glucose, and fructose make up the majority of the total sugars in raw

sweet potato roots. During cooking, amylases act on the gelatinized starch resulting in the

formation of maltose in cooked sweet potatoes. There is substantial genetic diversity within the

sweet potato genotypes collected around the world in term of sugar content and degree of

sweetness that contribute to the consumer preferences of processed products (Kays et al., 2005;

Leksrisompong et al., 2012). The glycemic indices of cooked sweetpotatoes were about 63–66,

indicative of moderate glycemic index food (Allen et al., 2012). Ash content of sweet potatoes is

approximately 3% of the dry weight or between 0.3% and 1.0% of the fresh weight basis (fwb).

Potassium is the mineral with the greatest concentration in sweet potato, with an average of 396

mg/100 g fwb. Phosphorous, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and magnesium are also present

in significant amounts (Woolfe, 2002).

Sweet potato roots also contain vitamins such as ascorbic acid, thiamin (B1), riboflavin

(B2), niacin (B6), pantothenic acid (B5), folic acid, and vitamin E. Bradbury and Singh (2006)

reported values between 9.5 and 25.0 mg/100 g (fwb) for ascorbic acid and 7.3–13.6 mg/100 g

(fwb) for dehydroascorbic acid resulting in a total vitamin C range of 17.3–34.5 mg/100 g for the
sweet potato roots. Orange‐fleshed sweet potatoes are rich in β‐carotene. A wider range of β‐

carotene content in cooked orange‐fleshed sweet potatoes, 6.7–16.0 mg/100 g fwb, has been

reported by different investigators (Bovell‐ Benjamin, 2007). The sweet potato carotenoids exist

in an all trans configuration, which exhibits the highest provitamin A activity among the

carotenoids. van Jaarsveld et al. (2005) advocate the increased consumption of orange‐fleshed

sweet potatoes as an effective approach to improve the vitamin A nutrition in the developing

countries. Total carotenoid content is correlated with the dry matter content and sensory

attributes involving visual, odor, taste and textural characteristics of cooked sweet potatoes.

Doubling in carotenoid content would result in a decrease of about 1.2% of dry matter content in

sweet potato varieties (Tomlins et al., 2012) Epidemiological studies indicated the beneficial

effects of high carotene diets in reducing the risks of cancer, age‐related macular degeneration,

and heart diseases (Tanumihardjo, 2008).

2.1.5 Processing and utilization of sweet potato

Sweet potato roots and other plant parts are used as human food, animal feed, and

processing industry. For industrial processing, starch, sugars, and natural colorants are the major

intermediate products that can be used in both food and nonfood processing industry Sweet

potato varieties with high levels of dry matter (35–41%), total starch (25–27%), and extractable

starch (20–23%) are available for starch processing (Brabet et al., 1998). There are many small

and medium factories in Asia producing about 26% of starch production (Bovell‐ Benjamin,

2007). The process for manufacturing purple‐fleshed sweet potatoes have been used in

commercial production of natural beta‐carotene and anthocyanin pigments in beverages and

other food products. The following sections describe recent developments in processing of sweet

potatoes into functional ingredients and common food products.

Purées and Juices

Processing

The use of sweet potatoes in the food industry often involves processing of the roots into

purées that can be subsequently frozen, canned, or packaged in aseptic conditions to produce

shelf‐stable products for year‐round availability. In purée processing, roots of all sizes and

shapes can be utilized and, therefore, the entire harvested crop is utilized including the 30–40%

off‐grade from the fresh root markets (Walter and Schwartz, 2003). The challenges in purée

processing industry are: (1) the difficulty in adjusting the process to account for differences in

cultivar types, root handling, curing, and storage; and processing techniques in order to produce

consistent and high quality purée; and (2) the preservation technology that could produce shelf‐

stable product for convenient incorporation in processed foods. Several techniques have been

developed for purée processing in order to produce purées with consistent quality, despite the

variations due to cultivar differences in carbohydrate content, starch degrading enzyme activities,

and postharvest handling practices (Collins and Walter, 2002).

Process operations for puréeing of sweet potatoes include washing, peeling, hand‐

trimming, cutting, steamed blanching or cooking, and grinding into purées which can be

subjected to canning or freezing for preservation. Raw sweet potatoes can be peeled by abrasive

rollers, lye solution, or steam flashing. Lye peeling is no longer a common method in the

industry due to the issues on equipment corrosion and waste disposal. The peeled sweet potatoes

are then washed thoroughly to remove all disintegrated peel, followed by trimming, cutting into

slices or dices. The purées can be simply produced by steam cooking of the chunks, slices, strips,

cubes, or ground particles, and passing the cooked materials through a pulp finisher. Hoover and
Harmon (2007) developed an enzyme activation technique using the endogenous amylolytic

enzymes for starch hydrolysis in sweet potato purée processing, and this process is now

commonly used in the food industry.

Packaging and Preservation

The finish‐cooked purée can be packaged in cans and retorted to produce shelf‐stable

product. The purée can also be filled in plastic containers for refrigerated or frozen storage

(Pérez‐Díaz et al., 2008). Preservation by canning for low‐acid food such as sweet potato purées

(pH, 5.8–6.3) usually involves high thermal treatment of the product because heat transfer in the

purée is mainly by conduction. High thermal treatment (e.g., 165 minutes at 121°C for an

institutional #10 can size) also results in severe degradation of color, flavor, texture, and

nutrients. The slow rate of heat transfer from the wall to the center of the can to attain

commercial sterilization of the product limits the maximum can size of number 10 for canned

sweet potato purées. This size limitation is another obstruction for the wider uses of sweet potato

purées as a food ingredient in the food industry. Nevertheless, canning does not have the need for

special storage; lower capital investment and unit of production is less when compared to

refrigerated and frozen purée.

On the other hand, frozen purée is an established method for preservation and provides

least degradation of nutritional and sensory quality as compared to canning. However,

preservation by freezing requires considerable investment in frozen distribution and storage as

well as space, energy, time, and requires defrosting before use. Currently, only limited amount of

canned and frozen sweet potato purées are commercially produced by a few companies in the

United States and Japan. Aseptic processing is considered as a potential alternative to overcome
the stated problems associated with canning and low‐temperature preservation. As opposed to

conventional canning, the use of high temperatures (≥125°C) for a short period of time in aseptic

processing can produce a higher quality product with equal or better level of microbiological

safety as that in a conventional canning system. A process for rapid sterilization and aseptic

packaging of the orange‐fleshed sweet potato purées using a continuous flow microwave system

operated at 915 MHz has been successfully developed by Coronel et al. (2005). This process has

the advantage of avoiding long retort processing schedules, maintaining high quality retention,

and producing shelf‐stable products. The resulting product packed in flexible plastic containers

had color and viscosity comparable to the nonsterilized purée and was shelf‐stable for at least 12

months

Purple‐fleshed sweet potato purées were also successfully processed into high quality

aseptic product using the continuous flow microwave system (Steed et al., 2008). With this

technology, shelf‐stable purées with consistently high quality can be packaged into various

container sizes (up to 300 gallons) for conveniently utilizing as food ingredients in the food

processing industry. This technology can be extended to highly viscous biomaterials and purées

from other fruits and vegetables (Kumar et al., 2008). In this new process, sweet potato purée is

loaded into a hopper, and pumped through the system. Microwaves from a generator are

delivered to sterilize the purée at 130–135°C, to retain in the holding tube for 30 seconds, to

rapidly cool in a tubular heat exchanger, and then to aseptically package in aluminum

polyethylene laminated bags (Simunovic et al., 2014). The first commercial venture on

aseptically packaged sweet potato purée using this microwave‐assisted sterilization technology

has been carried out. With rapid heating, high retention of carotene and anthocyanins (>85%) in
the purées can be achieved, and this development opens up a new market opportunity for the

sweet potato industry.

Sweet potato purées has been used as an ingredient in numerous formulated food

products, including baby food, casseroles, puddings, pies, cakes, ice cream, leather, bread,

patties, and soUSPWF (Truong and Walter, 2004). The sweetpotato purées are also used in

fruit/vegetable based beverages and restructured products (Truong, 2002; Truong et al., 2005).

Other commercial utilization of sweetpotato purée includes jam and ketchup (Fawzia et al.,

1999). The uses of sweetpotato purées in processing into flakes and powders, and various

fermented food products are described in a section below. With the recent commercial

development of the microwave‐assisted processing and aseptic packaging of sweetpotato purées,

it is expected that more processed food products from the purée will be developed.

Dehydrated Forms: Slices, Granules, Flakes, and Flour

Sweet potato roots are processed into dehydrated forms such as dried chips, cubes,

granules, flakes, and flour for storage and use in food preparations, including soUSPWF, bakery

products, vermicelli, noodles, extruded snack foods, and breakfast cereals (Waramboi et al.,

2014). Drying produces a light, compact, relatively inexpensive, easily stored, and transported

material. Processing methods vary in sophistication from simple slicing and field sun‐drying of

roots as practiced at the village levels in many tropical countries to the large‐scale, multistage

production of dehydrated products by large food companies. Functionality, nutrient retention,

and product storability of dehydrated products of sweetpotato roots are important to provide

competitiveness of these ingredients in food processing.

2.2 Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.)

Pigeon pea is useful in various ways both as human food and animal feed. As human

food pigeon pea is used as 'dhal (split seed without seed coat), whole seed, and green vegetable

to supplement cereal-based diets. The seed by-products from the 'dhal mills are used as animal

feed. Pigeon pea leaves are used as dry or green fodder. Stalks of pigeon pea are useful for

making baskets, constructing huts, hedges, and binding material (Faris and Singh, 2000). Pigeon

pea green manure provide nitrogen-rich organic material to improve soil structure (Whiteman

and Norton, 2001).

Pigeon pea is accepted in many parts of the world since it is very much resistant to

drought (ICRISAT). Pigeon pea seeds compliment cereals such as corn, maize, wheat and rice. It

forms a good portion of the human diet in many African, Asian and South American countries as

well. Pigeon pea is the economical source of protein, carbohydrate, minerals and vitamins such

as B-complex particularly in the vegetarian diet. Along with the cereals pigeon pea provide well

balanced diet and can be comparable to other dense protein sources like whey and soy

(Akporhonor et al., 2006)

2.2.1 Origin of pigeon pea

The centre of origin of pigeon pea is probably peninsular India, where the closest wild

relatives (Cajanus cajanifolia) occur in tropical deciduous woodlands (Van der Maeson., 2005).

But, some other opinions state that the origin of Cajanus cajan was either from Northeastern

Africa or India (Ecocrop, 2016). Archaeo logical finds of pigeon pea dating to about 3400 years

ago (14th century BC) have been found at Neolithic sites in Karnataka and its border areas

(Tuljapur-Garhi in Maharashtra and Gopalpur in Orissa) and also the south Indian states such as

Kerala, where it is called Tomara Payaru (Fuller and Harvey, 2006). From India it traveled to

East Africa and West Africa. There, it was first encountered by Europeans, so it obtained the

name Congo Pea. By means of the slave trade, it came to the American continent, probably in the

17th century (Carney and Rosomoff, 2009). According to Van der Maesen (2000), India is the

native of pigeon pea because of its natural genetic variability available in the local germplasm

and the presence of its wild relatives in the country.

2.2.2 Botany

Pigeon pea plants are a perennial legume which can reach a height upto 3 feet to 12 feet.

The compound leaves of this plant consist of three green leaflets which have a pubescence and

darker color on the upper side and a graygreen color on the underside. The flowers are yellow

with red lines or completely red on the exterior (Jonael Bosques). The flowers are bisexual,

zygomorphic and predominantly yellow (Sundaraj and Thulasidas, 2000). The inflorescence is

raceme which contain up to ten flowers per panicle and usually two flowers open at a time on a

single inflorescence (Sharma and Green, 2000). The androecium has 10 stamens bunched into

two groUSPWF (diadelphous) of 9 and a single free stamen that is attached at the base of

androecium. The fruit of pigeon pea is a flat, straight, pubescent, 5-9 cm long x 12-13 mm wide

pod. It contains 2-9 seeds that are brown, red or black in colour, small and sometimes hard

coated (Bekele-Tessema, 2007).

The 100 seed weight of short duration cultivated varieties are low (generally 6-8 grams)

as compared to long duration varieties (9-13 g). Root of pigeon pea is well developed in upper 60

cm soil profile (Natarajan and Willey, 2000). The root system consists of fine lateral roots as

well as a large taproot. This root provides the capacity to overcome moderate drought periods
(Jonael Bosques). The vegetative growth of the pigeon pea starts slowly, but accelerates when

the plant reaches 2 to 3 months.

2.2.3 Nutritive value of pigeon pea

Pigeon pea seed is composed of cotyledons (85%), embryo (1%), and seed coat (14%)

(Faris and Singh, 2000). The dietary nutrient values in the green seed, dry seed, and dhal of

pigeon pea are summarized in Table 1.

Table 2.1: The dietary nutrients of pigeon pea

Constituents Green seed mature seed dhal

Protein (%) 21.0 18.8 24.6

Protein digestibility (%) 66.8 58.5 60.5

Trypsin inhibitor (units mg-1) 2.8 9.9 13.5

Starch (%) 48.4 53.0 57.6

Starch digestibility (%) 53.0 36.2 -

Amylase inhibitor (units mg-1) 17.3 26.9 -

Soluble sugars (%) 5.1 3.1 5.2

Crude fiber (%) 8.2 6.6 1.2

Fat (%) 2.3 1.9 1.6

Source: Faris et al. (2007)

Minerals and trace elements (mg 100/g dry matter)

Constituents Green seed mature seed dhal

Calcium 94.6 120.8 16.3

Magnesium 113.7 122.0 78.9

Copper 1.4 1.3 1.3

Iron 4.6 3.9 2.9

Zinc 2.5 2.3 3.0

Vitamins (mg 100/g fresh weight of edible portion)

Carotene (Vit A 100/g) 469.0

Thiamin (Vit B1) 0.3

Riboflavin (Vit B2) 0.3

Niacin 3.0

Ascorbic acid (Vit C) 25.0

Source: Faris et al. (2007)

 Starch and proteins are the major constituents of pigeon pea. The high digestibility (%) of

protein and starch of pigeon pea makes it a staple for millions of people in the semi-arid tropics

(SAT). Pigeon pea significantly contributes to meet the dietary requirements of crude fiber, ash,

fat, magnesium, manganese, and copper (Faris and Singh, 2000). Pigeon pea contains high

amounts of vitamin B, carotene, and ascorbic acid (Miller et al., 2006). These are deficient in

cereals; therefore, pigeon pea has a good supplemental value of cereal-based diet. Pigeon pea is a

rich source of lysine but deficient in the sulfur-containing amino acids—methionine and cystein.

Cereal grains contain sufficient levels of methionine and cystein. Faris and Singh (2000) reported

that pigeon pea improves the amino acid score for lysine in rice- and wheat-based diets, and for

threonine, leucine, and isoleucine in wheat-based diet when used in a 70:30 cereal: pigeon pea

ratio.

2.2.4 Antinutritional factors of pigeon pea

Pigeon pea contains considerable amounts of several antinutritional factors, namely,

protein inhibitors, amylase inhibitors, and flab causing sugar and phytic acid. Pigeon pea

contains some amount of polyphenolic compounds (tannins) that inhibit the digestive enzymes—

trypsin, chymotrypsin, and amylase. These are especially present in dark seed coated pigeon pea.

These compounds create problems when pigeon pea is consumed in large quantities. However,

the antinutritional factors in pigeon pea are less than they are in soybean, pea, and common bean.

Pigeon pea also contains some unavailable carbohydrates that reduce the bioavailability of other

nutrients (Kamath and Belavady, 2000).

The toxic factors that interact with glycoprotein on the surface of red blood cells, causing

them to agglutinate are called phytolectins. These factors are present in pigeon pea, but being
highly sensitive to heat treatment, these are of little significance. Legumes cause flatulence when

consumed in large amounts. This is due to high level of oligosaccharides; stachyose, raffinose,

and verbascose. These sugars constitute about 53% of the total soluble sugars in pigeon pea

(Singh, 2008).

2.2.5 Pigeon pea as human food

Pigeon pea is consumed in various forms some of which are described below.

Whole seed

Pigeon pea seed has a hard seed coat with slightly acrid taste (Rachie and Roberts, 2004).

The dry pigeon pea seeds are soaked overnight and cooked with salt and spices. The boiled

whole seeds are sometimes fried with spices and eaten with cereals, particularly in Africa. Foods

such as Bongko and Brubus made with the whole seed are popular in Central Java. Other dishes

and snacks are rempeyek, serundeng, and gandasturi (Damardjati and Widowati, 2005).

 Sprouted seed: The seeds are soaked in water and allowed to sprout. The sprouted seeds

are eaten raw or cooked (Aykroyd and Doughty, 2002; Morton, 2006).

 Tempeh: This is prepared in combination with soybean. Tempeh is prepared by

fermenting soaked, denuded, and cooked pigeon pea seed with a Rhizopus mould. The

seed is spread on a mesh, and the mould is allowed to grow on the surface and through

the seed, forming a compact cake. The tempeh cake is cut into pieces and fried before

eating.

 Ketchup (sauce): This is prepared by fermenting pigeon pea in salt solution with

Aspergillus oryzae, A. niger, and Rhizopus sp. The fermentation is continued in brine

solution. Then it is cooked to prepare a sauce.

  Canned seed: Sometimes whole seeds are canned. This involves soaking of the dried

seed (white seeds are preferred) in water for 24 h followed by pressure-cooking in the

brine solution (very salty water) before they are canned.

 Roasted pigeon pea seeds are also consumed particularly in eastern India. The seeds are

soaked in water for 1 h and dried. The dried seed is mixed with little oil and water, and

again dried. This dried seed can be roasted on heated sand.

Dhal

The cotyledons of dry seeds excluding seed coat is called dhal. In India and many Asian

countries, pigeon pea is mainly consumed as dhal (MP 1). Dhal is popular because it takes less

time to cook and has acceptable appearance, texture, palatability, digestibility, and overall

nutritional quality

Green Seeds as a Vegetable

The green seeds of pigeon pea are used as a vegetable (MP 3). Green seeds contain more

protein, sugar, and fat than mature dry seeds. The protein and starch digestibilities of green seeds

are also better than those of mature dry seeds (Table 1 above). The flatulence causing sugars,

trypsin, and amylase inhibitors are lower in green seeds than in mature dry seeds (Singh et al.,

2004a). Green pigeon pea is a better source of iron (Singh et al., 2004b) and calcium than dhal

(Faris and Singh, 2000).

Green seed: The green pods are harvested before physiological maturity. The seeds of such pods

contain most or all of its dry matter, but the starch is not completely converted to sugar and thus

is tender. Vegetable pigeon pea varieties are preferred with large seeds and pods.
Green pods: Immature pods are harvested before the seeds are distinct, and cooked like French

beans in curries (Morton, 2006). Such pods are also used as salads (Faris and Singh, 2000).

Animal feed: The dry leaves and the left over pods at threshing of the crop are used as feed for

animals. The byproducts of seed coats, broken bits, and powder from the dhal mill collectively

are called 'Chunl. It is a valuable food for milch cattle (CSIR, 2000; Pathak, 2000). Being a

perennial crop with large biomass production with a high level of nitrogen under low input

conditions there is considerable focus on using pigeon pea as a fodder supplement, particularly in

the areas where soybean does not grow well and soybean meal is imported for animal feed

(Wallis et al., 2008).

Forage: Pigeon pea has potential to produce high biomass ranging from 40.0 to 57.6 t ha-1

(Singh and Kush, 2001; Akinola et al., 2005). About 50% of this yield is edible forage and rest is

wood (Whiteman and Norton, 2001). Plants grown for forage use should be cut 0.15 or 0.3 m

above ground level at an interval of 8-12 weeks. The long-duration genotypes were better

adapted to cutting as long as lower leaves remained on the stubble (Akinola et al., 2005; Akinola

and Whiteman, 2005).

2.2.6 Health benefits of Pigeon Pea

The nutritional components of pigeon pea are widely considered crucial for human

nutrition, because of phytochemicals, bioactive compounds which play vital roles in humans.

Traditionally Cajanus cajan leaves have been used by Rabha tribe to cure jaundice and also

described as useful for the treatment of smallpox, chicken pox, measles and also as an astringent,

mouthwash by local people of North East India (Sarma et al., 2015). Pigeon pea can be a source

of remedy in the control of sickle cell anaemia. In India, many Sickle cell disease (SCD) patients
are using pigeon pea for effective management of erythrocytes sickling in Chhattisgarh (Verma,

2015). In an ethnomedical survey pigeon pea plant was recorded as traditional medicinal plant

used in Northern and South-Eastern Côte d’Ivoire for the treatment of anaemia (Kone et al.,

2011). Pigeon pea also has anti-ulcer potential (Mansoor et al., 2015).

The European Society of Hypertension reco mm ends diet and lifestyle approaches as a

basis for prevention and treatment of hypertension. From animal model, it was both water

extracts of pigeon pea and water extracts of B. subtilis fermented pigeon pea improved systolic

blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (Lee et al., 2015).

Prebiotic potential: A prebiotic is defined as a selectively fermented ingredient that allows

specific changes, both in the composition and/or activity in the gastrointestinal microflora that

confers benefits upon host well-being and health (Roberfroid et al. 2010). Fermentation of

dietary carbohydrates provides the energy for the growth and activity of the intestinal microbiota.

Several studies established the role of prebiotics in weight control, by improving microbial

balance, ameliorating adiposity and increasing mucosal integrity with decreased inflammation

(John et al., 2012). A number of mechanisms have been implicated in the link between intestinal

microbiota, increased fatty acid metabolism, and storage of calories as fat (Mallappa et al.,

2012). The prebiotics can be a tool to modulate gut microbiota which plays a role in the

pathophysiology of obesity.

A diet rich in non-digestible carbohydrates induced significant weight loss and

concomitant structural changes of the gut microbiota in simple obese children (Zhang et al.,

2015). In another study consumption of prebiotics for 16 weeks significantly improved

bifidobacterial abundance in overweight and obese children and proved that prebiotic fiber is a
potential treatment option to reduce body fat by gut microbiota modulation (Nicolucci et al.,

2015). Recently Devindra et al. (2017) have demonstrated the prebiotic potential of red gram

raffinose oligosaccharides in an animal model. The results of the prebiotic potential of red gram

oligosaccharides have shown a hypolipidemic effect and lowered blood glucose level, improved

HDL and decreased LDL. This new array of research may provide enough evidence for the

prebiotic potential of pigeon pea.

Antioxidant potential: The bioactive compounds of pigeon pea seeds contain some defense

machinery. Four important compounds, pinostrobin, cajaninstilbene acid (CSA), vitexin and

orientin isolated from ethanolic extracts of pigeon pea found to possess significant antioxidant

activities (Pal et al., 2011). Antioxidant potential of pigeon pea seed husk was investigated and

results revealed a potent anti-oxidant activity (Rani et al., 2014). The aqueous extract of the

pigeon pea had the highest antioxidant activity possibly because of the presence of polyphenols

(Mahitha et al., 2015). Uchegbu and Ishiwu (2015) studied antioxidant activity of extract of

germinated pigeon pea in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Consumption of germinated pigeon pea

extract resulted in reduction of fasting blood glucose level and LPO in diabetic rats (Uchegbu

and Ishiwu, 2015).

Hypocholesterolemic effect: The consumption of pulses and legumes has been reported to

ameliorate serum cholesterol levels and increase the saturation levels of cholesterol in the bile.

Pigeon pea is a good source of saponins which have been implicated for the control of high

cholesterol level and they bind to the bile salts (Aja et al., 2015).

Overweight and obesity: The diet high in whole grains is associated with the lower body mass

index, smaller waist circumference, reduced risk of overweight and obesity (Butt et al., 2011).
Pigeon pea has high protein content and this dietary protein may promote weight loss by

inducing satiety hence decrease energy expenditure. Using data from the National Health and

Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), it was observed that adults who consumed a variety

of legumes had significantly lower body weights compared with those who did not consume

legumes (Polak, 2015).

Role in diabetes (Hypoglycemia): It is acknowledged that certain fibre rich foods like whole

pulses can affect glycemic control in diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Pigeon pea is the most

effective hypoglycemic medicinal plant commonly studied in relation to diabetes and their

complications and owing to its varied degree of hypoglycemic activity. In a study substitution of

red meat with legumes improved lipid profiles and glycemic control among diabetes patients

(Hosseinpour-Niazi, 2015).

In another study, there was a reduction in glucose levels of rats treated with ethanol

extract of pigeon pea leaves and an increase in ALT, AST and ALP levels when compared with

those treated with Moringaoleifera extract (Aja et al., 2015b). In a study, crude methanol extract

of pigeon pea seed husks mitigated starch-induced postprandial glycemic excursions and reduced

glycemic load in rats similar to the standard drug acarbose (Tiwari et al., 2013). The hypogl

ycemic effect of crackers produced from sprouted pigeon pea caused hypoglycemic effect in

diabetic rats and led to a reduction of measured biochemical indices (Uchegbu, 2016).

Cancer prevention: Alkaloids of pigeon pea have been implicated for inducing a stress response

and apoptosis in human breast cancer cell. DNA fragmentation was observed in human breast

cancer cells treated with cajanol, a novel anticancer agent from pigeon pea roots (Luo et al.,

2010). The methanol extract of the plant has been shown to demonstrate cytotoxicity against
three cancer cell lines, namely human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7, human large cell

lung carcinoma cell line COR-L23 and human amelanotic melanoma C32 (Ashidi et al., 2010).

Antimicrobial effect: Pigeon pea plant extract is inhibitory to some bacterial pathogens (Braga

et al., 2007). The leaf part of pigeon pea is an excellent source of natural antimicrobial

substances. Moreover, cajanuslactone is a potential anti-bacterial agent against Gram-positive

microorganisms (Kong et al., 2010). The presence of tannins, flavonoids and alkaloids in pigeon

pea extract has clinically relevant antifungal activity (Brito et al., 2012).

A study investigated the protective effect of cajaninstilbene acid against corticosterone

induced injury in PC12 cells and examined the potential mechanisms for the same (Jiang et al.,

2014). Different extracts of leaf, seed and root of the pigeon pea were proven to be a great

potential source of antibacterial compounds (Devi et al., 2016) and also aid in wound healing

activity. In a study, wound healing activity of hydrogel obtained from pigeon pea seed husk was

carried out in albino rats. Gel formulation showed significant antibacterial activity against both

gram positive and gram negative selected bacteria and the percentage wound closure and

epithelialization for the gel formulation treated group was comparable with those of standard

group treated with Band aid (Patil and Mastiholimath, 2011).

Hepatoprotective: Pigeon pea is already known for its hepatoprotective function. Pigeon pea

plant protein extracts can up-regulate and counteract the inflammatory process, minimize the

damage to the liver, delay disease progression, and reduce its complications in liver (Rizk et al.,

2014) and kidneys (Aly et al., 2016). The pigeon pea extract was potential towards antioxidative

protection against ironoverload-induced liver damage in mice and improved hepatic antioxidants

(Sarkar et al., 2013).

 Pigeon pea plant extract also had promising anthelmintic effects against F. hepatica

(Alvarez et al., 2015) and a poly herbal formulation from pigeon pea could protect the liver cells

from CCl4 - induced liver damages (Arka et al., 2015). In another study hepatoprotective activity

of pigeon pea was studied in sodium fluoride treated Swiss albino (BALB/C) mice. Treatment

with extract of pigeon pea exhibited significant anti-oxidant and hepatoprotective activity

(Kayathri et al., 2015).

2.2.7 Socio-economic Impact of Pigeon Pea

Pigeon pea is widely recognized for its agronomic and nutritional benefits to rural

households, including its capacity to earn foreign exchange for many African countries, such as

Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda (Jones et al., 2002). Studies carried out to date are now

focused on improvement of productivity and quality of production, but little is said about its role

in improving the nutrition and livelihoods of farmers (ICRISAT, 2001; Jones et al., 2002).

Moreover, this limited attention has focused on the preferences of farmers for consumption and

the motivational factors causing this.

A recent study highlights how pigeon pea could promote rural development in Africa.

However, this study was based on a literature review and some statistical data from FAO. The

data from FAO regarding pigeon pea are not reliable as data for Mozambique are not included.

Thus, there is a need to carry out empirical research to study the real impact of pigeon pea on

small farmers. Furthermore, a project was implemented and reported in Uganda to address

handling, processing and marketing of pigeon pea in this country, but once more this was

focused on the marketing of the crop (Agona and Muyinza, 2004). Another study done in Kenya

focused on the incorporation of pigeon pea into the farming system, varieties used and its
marketing, the major constraints to production and provides some recommendations for

investigations to improve pigeon pea production (Agona and Muyinza, 2004).

Even though Jones et al. (2002) did follow a socio-economic approach to study the

impact of improved pigeon pea varieties in Tanzania, it is again related to particular varieties that

were introduced by ICRISAT to alleviate the agronomic problems posed by pigeon pea

production and foster cash provision in the country. The available reports are more focused at

macro-level benefits. Hence, there has been no research executed at the micro-level, which draws

attention to how farmers, the producers of pigeon pea, are using it and its impact on their

livelihoods.

The approach employed in the current research to assess the socio-economic impact of

pigeon pea in Mozambique is the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) which includes all

aspects of livelihood resources of small farmers and social relations. This study has used the

assets outlined within the SLA that include natural, human, physical, financial and social. These

are important as they are the foundations of any strategy that is adopted by the household to

ensure its members’ welfare. Additionally, the SLA focus is on the producers of pigeon pea, as it

was primarily developed with a focus on poor people. Moreover the approach is for the

promotion of rural development and poverty reduction. The impact of pigeon pea’s promotion on

livelihoods assets is analyzed, as a way of agriculture contributing to the broad process of

poverty alleviation. Additionally, by improving access to the capitals, farmer households can

progress along the scale of rural development and further steps to reduce poverty are more

certain.
 CHAPTER THREE

3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS

3.1 Materials

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajam) used in the research

work was purchased from a local market in Owo, Ondo State. The samples were processed in

Food Processing Laboratory, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria

3.2 Methods

3.2.1 Preparation of fermented sweet potato-pigeon pea flour

Fresh sweet potato root were washed, peeled, sliced and pigeon pea seeds were

winnowed, sorted, drained. The two cleaned samples (sliced sweet potato root and washed

pigeon pea were soaked together i.e fermented together for 72 hours. After 72 hours the

fermented samples it was washed, wet milled, sieved, sedimented for 24 hours, drained, sun

dried for 3 days and dry milled into powder, sieved and packaged in airtight container for further

analysis (Fig. 1).

3.2.2 Preparation of unfermented sweet potato-pigeon pea flour

Fresh sweet potato root were washed, peeled, sliced and pigeon pea seeds were

winnowed, sorted, washed and drained. After draining the unfermented samples (sliced sweet

potato and pigeon pea) wet milled, sieved, sedimented for 24 hours, drained, sun dried for 3 days

and dry milled into powder, sieved and packaged in airtight container for further analysis (Fig.

2).
 Sweet potato tuber (70%) Pigeon pea (30%)

Washing Winnowing

Peeling Peeling

Washing Washing

Slicing Soaking (72 hrs at room temp.)

Draining

Re-washing

Wet milling

Sieving

Sedimentation (24 hrs)

Draining

Caking

Sun drying (72 hrs)

Dry milling

Packaging

Fermented sweet potato-pigeon pea flour

Figure 1: Preparation of Fermented sweet potato-pigeon pea flour

 Sweet potato tuber (70%) Pigeon pea (30%)

Washing Winnowing

Peeling Peeling

Washing Washing

Slicing Draining

Wet milling

Sieving

Sedimentation (24 hrs)

Draining

Caking

Sun drying (72 hrs)

Dry milling

Packaging

Unfermented sweet potato-pigeon pea flour

Figure 2: Preparation of unfermented sweet potato-pigeon pea flour

3.2.3 Preparation of blends for weaning food

Sweet potato flour was blended with pigeon pea flour, in different combination to obtain

Samples (2) samples as shown in Table 1.

FSPWF = Fermented Sweetpotato (70%) + Pigeon pea (30%) Weaning Food

USPWF = Unfermented Sweetpotato (70%) + Pigeon pea (30%) Weaning Food
Table 3.1: Flour Blends Formulations

Samples Sweet potato flour Pigeon pea flour

FSPWF 70 30

USPWF 70 30

Keys: FSPWF = Fermented Sweetpotato-Pigeon pea Weaning Food

USPWF = Unfermented Sweetpotato-Pigeon pea Weaning Food
3.3 Functional analysis of weaning food from sweet potato and pigeon pea flour

3.3.1 Water Absorption Capacity (WAC) Determination

The water-absorption capacity of the flours was evaluated by placing 2g of samples in a

centrifuge tube. 10.0ml of distilled water was added and the resultant slurry was shaken for

15minutes before centrifugation at 2000rpm for 15minutes. The supernatant was decanted and

measured in a measuring cylinder.

Mathematically,

volume of water absorbed

% Bond water = × 100
Weight of sample .

3.3.2 Bulk Density Determination

The bulk density of the flour was determined by placing 50g of sample in a 500ml

measuring cylinder and was tapped for 5minutes. The bulk density was then calculated as the

ratio of the mass of the flour divided by settled volume in the cylinder.

Mathematically,

Mass of flour
Bulk density =
Volume after tapping

3.3.3 Swelling capacity

Swelling capacity is a ratio and it has no units. It is the rate of swelling. The swelling

index was determined using the method of Ukpabi and Ndimele (1999). 25g of each sample was

weighed into 500ml measuring cylinder, 150ml of water was added and it was allowed to stand

for 4hours and the level of swelling was observed thereafter.

Mathematically,

Volume after soaking−volume before soaking

Swelling capacity =
Weight of sample .

3.3.4 Foaming Capacity/Stability

Foaming capacity (FC): Foaming capacity of the flours and blends was determined by the

method of Coffman and Garcia (2007). The flour/blend (2g) was dispersed in distilled water (100

mL) and homogenized properly for two minutes in a kitchen blender. Volumes were recorded

before and after homogenization and percent increase in the volume was calculated as FC of the

flour by using the following formula:

V 2−V 1
FC (%) = ×100
V1

Where, V1 = Initial volume of the solution

V2 = volume of solution after homogenization.

3.3.5 Oil Absorption Capacity

Oil absorption capacity (OAC) was determined using the method reported by Awoyale et

al. (2011). Exactly 10 ml of edible oil for OAC were mixed with 1g of flour each and blended

for 30 seconds. The samples were allowed to stand for 30 minutes and centrifuged at 1303 g for

another 30 min at room temperature (27 ± 2°C). The supernatant was decanted. The weight of oil

absorbed by the flour was calculated and expressed as percentage OAC.

volume of oil absorbed

OAC % = × 100
weig ht of sample
3.3.6 Least Gelation Determination

The gelation property of the sample was carried out by modifying the method of Coffman

and Garcia (2007).Appropriate sample suspension of 2,4,6,12,18,24, 36 and 40%(w/v) were

prepared with distilled water in test tube. The test tubes containing these suspensions were then

heated for one hour in a boiling water bath. The test tubes were cooled rapidly for 2hours at 4°C.

The least gelation concentration was determined as that concentration whose sample from the

inverted test tube do not fall or slip.

 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Results

Table 4.1: Functional properties of Fermented and unfermented sweet potato-pigeon pea

weaning food

Parameters FSPWF USPWF

WAC (g/ml) 137 142

BD (g/ml) 0.74 0.80

SC (%) 6.1 6.5

FC (%) 10 9

OAC (%) 1.67 1.08

FS (%) 2.51 2.45

LGC 12 6

Keys: WAC = Water Absorption Capacity, BD = Bulk Density, SC = Swelling Capacity, FC =

Foaming capacity, OAC = Oil Absorption Capacity, FS = Foaming Stability, LGC = Least

Gelation Concentration

FSPWF = 70% Fermented sweet potato + 30% pigeon pea weaning

USPWF = 70% Unfermented sweet potato + 30% pigeon pea weaning

4.2 Discussion

Functional composition of fermented and unfermented sweet potato and pigeon pea

to produce weaning food

Functional properties of a food material are parameters that determine its application and

end use (Adeleke and Odedeji, 2010). It usually shows how the food materials under

investigation will interact with other food components directly or indirectly affecting processing

applications, food quality, and ultimate acceptance. There was a significant difference (p<0.05)

between the functional properties of fermented (sweet potato + pigeon pea) and unfermented

(sweet potato + pigeon pea). The fermented (sweet potato + pigeon pea) and unfermented (sweet

potato + pigeon pea) are represented by FSPWF and USPWF respectively.

The water absorption capacity ranged from 137% to 142%. The ability of the composite

blend to absorb water increased as the level of incorporation of FSPWF and USPWF increased.

This may be attributed to the low protein and high carbohydrate contents of FSPWF and UPF, as

carbohydrates have been reported to greatly influence the water absorption capacity (WAC) of

foods (Anthony et al., 2014). From the results, all the composite blends showed favorable WAC

thus making them suitable raw material or functional ingredients in the development of ready‐to‐

eat food products. Also from the result, it was revealed that USPWF has the highest value of

Water Absorption Capacity (WAC)

The result of bulk density (BD) is used to evaluate the food heaviness, handling

requirement and the type of packaging materials suitable for storage and transportation of food

materials (Oppong et al., 2015). The bulk density which varied from 0.74g/ml to 0.80g/ml
increased as the incorporation level of FSPWF and USPWF increased. It was observed that the

composite blends are heavy so a lower amount of the weaning food both fermentation and

unfermented may be packaged within a constant volume (Oppong et al., 2015). There was

significant difference between them but USPWF slightly has value of 0.80g/ml than FSPWF

which has 0.74g/ml.

Swelling capacity gives an indication of the increase in the volume of the increase in the

volume of the food following water absorption (Ojo and Ade Omowaye, 2015). Food with good

swelling capacities are used for thickening of soUSPWF, sauces and gravies (Oraka and Okoye,

2017). The swelling capacity values obtained in this study fell below that of commercial rice

flour (7.7g/g) (Noitang et al., 2009). The swelling capacity of the unfermented weaning food

(USPWF) has higher value than the fermented weaning food (FSPWF). FSPWF is 6.1% while

USPWF is 6.5%. Though, there was no significant difference (p<0.05) between FSPWF and

USPWF.

Foaming capacity (FC) is used to determine the ability of the food to foam which is

dependent on the presence of the flexible protein molecules which decrease the surface tension

of water (Asif‐Ul‐Alam et al., 2014). The values for foaming capacity which ranged from 9%

(FSPWF) to 10% (USPWF). This was expected since the protein content of FSPWF is

considerably lower in the samples. The results is below the result (23.5%–65.0%) which were

reported by (Kiin‐Kabari et al., 2015) as the substitution of bambara groundnut increased in

wheat/plantain flours. There was a significant difference between the samples obtained but that

of fermented sample is higher by 1%.

 Oil absorption capacity (OAC) measures the ability of food material to absorb oil. OAC

varied from 1.67% to 1.08% showing the fermented and unfermented weaning food has low oil

absorption capacity as a result of the hydrophobic character of protein in the samples. The value

obtained in (OAC) is very low due to high content of carbohydrate. The presence of protein

exposes more non‐polar amino acids to the fat and enhances hydrophobicity as a result of which

the blend absorbs more oil (Oluwalana et al., 2011). There was no significant difference (p<0.05)

between both fermented and unfermented weaning food.

Forming Stability (FS) of the unfermented weaning food (USPWF) is higher than the

fermented weaning food (FSPWF) within the value range of 2.51-2.45%. There was no

significant difference between them

Least gelation concentration (LGC) measures the minimum amount of food needed to

form a gel in a measured volume of water. It varies from food to food depending on the relative

ratios of their structural constituents like protein, carbohydrates, and lipids (Abbey and Ibeh,

2008). LGC which varied from 6% to 12% increased as percentage inclusion of fermentation

increased. The fermented weaning food has higher than the unfermented weaning food 12% and

6%. The increasing concentration of protein enhances the interaction among the binding forces

which in turn increases the gelling ability of the flour (Lawal, 2004). It was observed that the

higher the LGC, the higher the quantity of food needed to form a gel and the lower the LGC the

better the gelling ability of the weaning food.

.
 CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Conclusion

Based on the functional composition, it was observed that unfermented weaning food

(pigeon pea and sweet potato) has highest property, and was selected for formulation of

complementary food. From the bulk density, oil absorption capacity, swelling ability, foaming

capacity, foaming stability, least gelation capacity and oil absorption capacity, it was observed

that unfermented pigeon pea and sweet potato could be used for weaning formulation.

5.2 Recommendation

It is recommended that further study should be carried out on the health benefits of

consuming fermented and unfermented weaning food with incorporation of pigeon pea and sweet

potato. It is also recommended that consumers should be introduced weaning food as it is not

popularly known, especially in the western part of Nigeria where this work was carried out. It is

recommended that further study be carried out on the following: Nutritional (proximate)

composition of other fermented and unfermented products; Shelf-stability studies on weaning

(fermented and unfermented); Feeding trials using bioassay.

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