Theophilus Maduabuchukwu Ikegwu¹*, IRO Nkama² and Ifeanyi Gabriel Okafor²

¹Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
²Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author: Theophilus Maduabuchukwu Ikegwu, Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.

Received: February 04, 2021; Published: January 09, 2023

Abstract

This research investigated and compared the proximate composition, microscopic and thermal properties of some grains (maize, wheat, and millet), a root crop (cassava) and a leguminous crop (bambara nut) with the intent to formulate novel food product with the desired characteristics for industrial processing. The carbohydrate, moisture, ash, crude fat, crude protein and crude fibre contents ranged from 57.80-82.02%, 5.04-11.77%, 0.36-4.04%, 1.75-5.50%, 7.45-23.54% and 0.67-4.10%, respectively. The thermal properties showed that To, Tp, Tr and ΔH ranged from 79.85-86.36ºC, 86.02-90.26ºC, 89.67-95.44ºC and 0.80-39.07 J/g, respectively. Microscopically, the millet flour showed silvered-white indentations that evidenced presence of protein in the intact structure, unlike the other grains. The increased content of protein in the maize could be attributed to increased activity of α-amylase in the maize grain soaked for 48hrs. The DSC of the flours indicates the A+V-type polymorphs were present in the flours. Wheat and maize flours contained high values of the amylose that could have contributed to the increased values of the enthalpy in their flours, although maturity of the grain during harvest could influence the amylose content and consequently, the enthalpy of foods. The result of the FTIR- Spectroscopy revealed that the different samples had varying structural differences with different levels of orderliness in the structure. Furthermore, the millet flour possessed more ordered structure compared to the other grains. However, the bambara nut flour has the highest ordered structure..

Keywords: Thermal Properties; Scanning Electron Microscopy; Proximate Composition; Flour; Ordered Structure

References

1. Official Methods of Analysis, 20^th edition. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington, DC (2010).
2. Osman AMA., et al. “Effects of gamma irradiation and/or cooking on nutritional quality of faba bean (Viciafaba) cultivars seeds”. Journal of Food Science and Technology 51.8 (2014): 1554-1560.
3. Kirk RS and Sawyer R. “Fruit Pearson Chemical Analysis of Foods (8^th )”. Longman Scientific and Technical. Edinburg (1998): 211-212.
4. Igbabul B., et al. “Proximate Composition, Functional and Sensory Properties of Bambara Nut (Voandzeia subterranean), Cassava (Manihotesculentus) and Soybean (Glycine max) Flour Blends for “Akpekpa” Production”. Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science 1.2 (2013): 147-155.
5. Ikegwu TM., et al. “Proximate and physicochemical properties of modified cassava, yam and rice starches”. Proceedings of the 1^st International Conference on Biosciences Research, Awka, Nigeria (2015): 25-27.
6. Kehrer JP. “Free radicals as mediators of tissue injury and disease”. Critical Reviews in Toxicology 23(1993): 21-48.
7. Abdel-Haleem WH., et al. “Effect of fermentation, malt-pretreatment and cooking on antinutritional factors and protein digestibility of sorghum cultivars”. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 7 (2008): 335-341.
8. Abdel-Rahaman SM., et al. “Effect of fermentation on antinutritional factors and HCl extraction of minerals of pearl millet cultivars”. Journal of Food Science and Technology 4 (2005): 516-522.
9. Abedel-Hady AS., et al. “Antinutritional factors content and availability of protein, starch and mineral of maize (Zeamayslinnanus) and lentil (Lens culinaris) as influenced by domestic processing”. Journal of Food Science and Technology 3 (2005): 523-528.
10. EL Hag ME., et al. “Effect of fermentation and dehulling on starch, total polyphenols, phytic acid and in vitro digestibility of pearl millet”. Food Chemistry 77 (2002): 193-196.
11. Osman MA. “Effect of traditional fermentation process on the nutrient and antinutrient contents of pearl millet during preparation of Lohoh”. Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences 10 (2011): 1-6.
12. Aberoumand, A. “Screening of Phytochemical Compounds and Toxic Proteinaceous Protease Inhibitor in Some Lesser-known Food Based Plants and Their Effects and Potential Applications in Food”. International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition Engineering3 (2012): 16-20.

Citation

Citation: Theophilus Maduabuchukwu Ikegwu., et al. “Comparative Studies of the Proximate, Microscopic and Thermal Properties of Processed Maize, Wheat, Millet, Cassava and Bambara Nut Flours". Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 7.2 (2023): 38-47.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 Theophilus Maduabuchukwu Ikegwu., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.