Nutritional response of Okra to various packaging materials and chemical pickling agents

The research is focused at determining the nutritional response of Okra when pickling is carried out using different antimicrobial liquids (vinegar, olive oil, and groundnut oil) and packaging materials (glass jar, plastic and stainless steel), as well as make a comparism when spices (garlic, ginger, mixture of garlic and ginger) are added as well as control (no treatment). The okra variety used was purchased from IITA (variety 47-4), based on NIHORT classification. Groundnut oil was extracted using a hydraulic press, and the physico-chemical properties of the groundnut oil was determined in the laboratory. The other antimicrobial liquids were purchased from a grocery store. The relative humidity and temperature of the storage environment was determined three times daily (8:00 a.m, 12:00 p.m, and 5:00 a.m.) for a period of 7 days. The nutritional content of okra such as crude fibre, calcium, vitamin A and vitamin C were determined at the end of the experiment. The mean result of crude fibre, calcium, vitamin C and vitamin A from okra samples after pickling showed that vitamin C of okra stored in stainless steel was significantly higher (36.06 mg/100g) than those of glass (35.02 mg/100g) and plastics (36.03 mg/100g).The mean calcium content of okra stored in plastic (80.730%) was significantly higher than those stored in glass (80.320%) and stainless steel (80.010%) respectively. Crude fibre of stored okra (3.24%) using groundnut oil was higher compared to when vinegar and olive oil were used respectively.Keywords: Pickling, okra, vinegar, groundnut oil, calcium, protei