ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL QUALITIES AND ACCEPTABILITY OF BREADS PRODUCED WITH MORINGA OLEIFERA POD FLOUR

An in-vitro assay was carried out to ascertain the effect of addition of dry Moringa oleifera pod flour on the quality of composite bread, which hitherto had constituted an important dietary intake of many people in Nigeria. M. oleifera pod was processed into flour and mixed with composite flour for bread production. Four samples of bread were produced and labelled Samples 20 g, 40 g, 60 g and Control. The control contained 100 % wheat flour, while Sample 20 g to 60 g had dry M. oleifera pod flours added in an increasing order of 20 %, 40 % and 60 %. The nutritional properties of the bread loaves were evaluated and the result varied significantly with increasing levels of M. oleifera pod flours. The proximate composition of bread fortified with M. oleifera pod flours showed that the moisture content decreased significantly (p<0.05) with increased M. oleifera pod flours varying from 22.4 % to 32.6 % while that of protein contents increased from 2.84 % to 3.06 %. The fat contents of the bread samples did not differ significantly (p<0.05) with increase in M. oleifera pod flours while the carbohydrate contents of the bread samples increased significantly (p<0.05) with increase in M. oleifera pod flours. The mineral, phytochemical and vitamin contents increased with the increase in the addition of M. oleifera pod flours. The result of the sensory properties showed that the flavour, texture, mouth feel, colour and overall acceptability of each product was significantly (p<0.05) enhanced by the addition of M. oleifera pod flour. The 100 % wheat bread recorded the lowest scores in all the major parameters evaluated while all the other samples were well accepted. Overall, there was an increase in the values of acceptability, appearance and flavour of the bread samples with increasing levels of M. oleifera pod flours