The Impact of Processing Procedures on the Proximate and Phytochemical Composition of Unripe <i>Musa Paradisiaca</i> (Plantain)

Abstract

The study assessed the impacts of processing methods (sun drying and oven drying) on the proximate and phytochemical composition of unripe Musa paradisiaca (plantain) flour. Proximate and phytochemical analyses of the samples were performed using the standard methods. The unripe plantain flours were dried using sun drying and oven drying process and compared against fresh plantain for their nutritional and antinutritional content. The proximate content (%) of the unripe Musa paradisiaca include crude protein (3.58±0.43), carbohydrate (68.74±1.10), crude fat (2.02±0.19), and moisture content (9.06±1.88) after oven drying while crude protein (3.24±0.09), carbohydrate (64.84±1.24), crude fat (1.29±0.26), and moisture (15.86±1.61) were obtained after sun drying of unripe Musa paradisiaca. The phytochemical analysis (%) showed that the unripe Musa paradisiaca samples contain alkaloid (0.30±0.10), flavonoid (0.40±0.06), saponins (0.36±0.10), and tannin (0.30±0.10) for oven dried whereas some amount of alkaloid (1.18±0.20), flavonoid (0.79±0.16), saponins (1.59±0.23), and tannin (1.70±0.26) were observed for sun dried feedstock. The analysis of the nutritional composition implies that drying style has the potential to lower the moisture levels of plantain flour (p<0.005), whereas oven dried had the least moisture levels compared to sun dried and freshly prepared samples (59.74±1.88). The crude protein and phytochemical contents of the processed samples also reduced significantly, while carbohydrate, ash and crude fiber contents increased significantly (p<0.005) in relation to freshly prepared (27.84±1.27; 1.87±0.42; 1.62±0.51). The drying procedure of the unripe Musa paradisiaca produced flour with comparable nutritional contents, as oven dried gave least moisture content which is indicative of high potential to prevent spoilage and microbial development thereby increasing and prolonging the lifespan to usability.