Chemical and sensory properties evaluations in sea salt fortified with Moringa oleifera leaf extract

Abstract

As a natural ingredient containing many nutrients and beneficial to human health, Moringa oleifera leaf extract can be used as a food-fortification ingredient. Fortifying daily seasonings such as salt with M. oleifera leaf extract can help to fulfill human daily nutrition requirements and deliver health benefits. This research aimed to study the influence of fortifying sea salt with M. oleifera leaf extract on the product's chemical characteristics and sensory properties. M. oleifera leaf extract was added into fine salt with different concentrations of 20% and 40% (w/v) and heated at 55℃ for 10 mins. The chemical properties were analysed to evaluate the nutritional properties of the product, for instance, β-carotene, vitamin C, moisture and NaCl content. Subsequently, sensory properties are presented to assess product preference from panellists. The result showed that the β-carotene and vitamin C in 20% and 40% treatments were 12.641 to 27.922 μg/ kg and 5.06 to 7.392 mg/kg, respectively. The moisture content in control, 20%, and 40% treatments were all below 5%. NaCl content, as the major compound in the product, was affected by adding M. oleifera leaf extract into the product. Applying 40% M. oleifera leaf extract to the salt significantly decreased the NaCl content of the product compared with 20% treatment and control. All sensory properties attributes have decreased as an increase of M. oleifera leaf extract concentration. Compared with the 40% treatment, the 20% treatment showed a higher value of sensory properties. A preference for salt fortification was also shown at the 20% treatment in the neutral midpoint. Thus, an additional 20% of M. oleifera leaf extract provided higher nutritional content than the control and was more acceptable to consumers than the 40% treatment.