Effects of Neem and Moringa seed oil on cookability and palatability of cowpea grains stored for six months

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the effects of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) and Moringa (Moringa oleifera) seed oils treatment on the cooking and organoleptic properties of cowpea grains at the end of 180 days of storage, and to formulate a standard mixture of neem and moringa seed oil in appropriate ratio for better consumer acceptability of the cowpea preserved with this oils in 2009 at the Federal University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria. Data collected which include cooking time, leached solids, soaking time, swelling capacity and flavour, taste, texture, colour and overall acceptability were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) to ascertain the significant differences between means and least significant difference was used to compare the means that were significantly different (p<0.05). The results showed that there was no significant differences (p<0.05) between the cooking properties of the various oil treated samples and the control. The cooking time of control samples of 55 min was significantly lower (p<0.05) than the cooking time of 60 min for treated samples. The sensory evaluation test showed that neem: moringa ratio 1:3 oil treated samples were the most preferred in terms of colour, texture, taste, flavour and overall acceptability followed by neem: moringa ratio 1:2 oil treated samples. The study recommends mixtures of neem: moringa oils in the ratios 1:2 and 1:3 for the preservation of cowpea meant for consumption. Key words: Cookability, palatability, organoleptic properties.