Proximate, Mineral and Sensory Qualities of ‘Amala’ Prepared from Yam flour fortified with Moringa leaf powder

The study was conducted to determine the proximate, mineral and sensory qualities of ‘amala’ prepared from yam flour fortified with Moringa oleifera leaf powder (MOLP). Moringa oleifera leaves were dried milled, sieved and added to yam flour in different proportions (0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%). Samples were mixed to ensure uniform distribution of the leaves within the flour and subsequently prepared into ‘amala’. Generally, the proximate composition except for moisture and carbohydrate content of all the samples increased significantly with an increase in the level MOLP with values ranging from 0.34-1.99% for crude fat; 1.10-2.21% for crude fibre; 1.74-2.78 for ash and 5.73-8.46% for crude protein and carbohydrate values from 8.35 -12.38%. Reduction in moisture content (wet basis) was observed from 78.72-76.21% and 12.375-8.350% for carbohydrate. The mineral composition ranged between (198.72-292.45 mg/100g), (140.23-159.00 mg/100g), (435.56-597.85 mg/100g), (473.95-543.02 mg/100g), (3.64-5.04ppm), (127.76-147.93ppm), (3.64-6.93ppm) and (4.77-5.54ppm) for Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Potassium (K), Sodium (Na), Iron (Fe), Phosphorus (P), Manganese (Mn) and Copper (Cu) respectively. Generally, the mineral profile of the fortified ‘amala’ increased significantly (P?0.05) with increase in addition of MOLP. There was no significant difference (p<0.05) among the samples for the sensory qualities of colour, mouldability and mouth feel except for sample fortified with 10% MOLP. However, the addition of MOLP greatly affected the aroma and overall acceptability of the sample. The sample prepared from yam flour fortified with 2.5% MOLP compared favourably well with the control in all sensory attributes. It was apparent that fortification of yam flour with MOLP at 2.5% level improved the proximate and mineral composition without affecting the overall acceptability and hence, could be used to improve the nutritional status of people and serves as an opportunity for the utilization of Moringa oleifera leaves. Keywords: Amala, Moringa oleifera leaves, yam flour, proximate, mineral sensory