Abstract
Guava and jackfruit are popular fruits in East Africa. With consideration of the high post-harvest losses of these two fruits and only seasonal availability, this study aimed to produce nutrient rich fruit-based snacks to decrease this problem and make use of surplus fruits during on-season. Given the nutritional situation in East Africa, these products were also developed to have a high content of desired nutrients. Next to either guava or jackfruit also mango, different nuts and lemon juice was partly added. Processing methods included cooking and drying, which are suitable for local households and small processing groups. Chemical analyses were implemented to determine nutrient contents before cooking, after cooking and after drying. Major results included that bars with guava and lemon juice contained the highest content of ascorbic acid, 81.19 and 48.18 mg/100 g FM before and after cooking, respectively; jackfruit-based samples without lemon juice after drying contained more phenolic content than guava-based samples; fruit bars with lemon juice had higher acidity; samples of guava contained more β-carotene than jackfruit. In conclusion, the fruit-nut-bars can provide a good option to process surplus fruits and provide essential nutrients to the local population in East Africa. Key words: Guava, jackfruit, fruit-nut-bars, East Africa.
Highlights
Guava (Psidium guajava) and jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) are naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas around the world (Flores et al, 2015)
The overconsumption of certain nutrients is of a problem and, for example, diabetes is widespread among African people (IDF, 2019)
This study focuses on processing options in order to extend the shelf-life of guava and jackfruit which were selected as target fruits by the overall project
Summary
Guava (Psidium guajava) and jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) are naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas around the world (Flores et al, 2015). Both of them have high contents of several nutrients that are essential to human beings, such as ascorbic acid and potassium (Lukmanji et al, 2008). The overconsumption of certain nutrients is of a problem and, for example, diabetes is widespread among African people (IDF, 2019). The share of adults aged 20-79 years with diabetes is 3.9% of the total population in the IDF Africa Region with an increasing trend (FAO et al, 2020)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call