Evaluation of diffussivity and acceptable mixing ratio for production of hibiscus-moringa tea bags

This study was conducted to evaluate the diffusivity and mixing ratio of hibiscus/moringa in tea bags.Hibiscus and moringa leaves were mixed at different ratios and labeled as samples A (70:30), B (60:40), C (50:50), D (40:60) and E (20:80). Lipton tea was used as control sample. Standard methods were used to determine the proximate compositions, pH, total soluble solids, and diffusion rate. Twenty (20) semi trained panelists conducted the sensory evaluation tests. The results of the proximate analysis show that the protein content ranged from 20.13 to 32.73 g/100g; increasing with increase in moringa content, the moisture content ranged from 3.05to 3.97 g/100g, the crude fibre content ranged from 10.13 to 11.93 g/100g. The ash content ranged from 9.70 to 11.14 g/100g, the fat content ranged from 9.67 to 10.24 g/100g. The result of the brix content ranged from 1.80 to 3.00 oBrix. The pH of the leave blends ranged from 3.30 to 4.06 with sample D having the highest pH and sample B having the lowest.The result of the diffusion rate ranged from 0.39 to 0.60 g/min; sample with 60% moringa and 40% hibiscus composition having the highest. The sensory evaluation shows that sample E (70% moringa and 30% hibiscus) was most preferred in terms of appearance, taste and general acceptability. The results of the study show that sample C (50% moringa and 50% hibiscus) had no significant difference in colour and general acceptability to control and sample E which was most accepted among all the samples, sample C has a significant different value of protein to sample E Sample C was therefore recommended for consumption for the amelioration of the incidence of protein malnutrition in developing countries