The Industrial and Nutritional Utilization of Baobab pulp (Adansonia digitata L.)

2003The main purpose of this study is to determine the nutritive and industrial value of baobab fruit pulp mechanically extracted using a especial machine for this purpose made in Sudan. First, the chemical analysis for these samples were carried out to determine the nutritive value of the extracted pulp through the presence of the important nutrients and their amounts. The results of the study showed that the amounts of Vitamin C found were more than that in other foods as it was 355.7 mg/100g compared with 80 mg/100g in Orange juice (Egan, et al., 1981). Also the important minerals were found in reasonable amounts for example Calcium 0.39%, Potassium 0.82%, Sodium 0.0032%, and Magnesium 0.19%. The important nutrient, Carbohydrate, found in a high percentage amount to 78.42%. It is known that Carbohydrate are the first source of energy for humans. As (Mohamed and Khattab, 1997) mentioned, the Carbohydrates represents 90% of energy source in under developed countries. The other nutrients are found in following percentages: protein 3.4%, fat 4.1%, ash 5.6%. To determine the industrial value of Tabaldi fruits; the study has confirmed the possibility of the production of a natural drink out of Tabaldi only sugar should be added to the natural extract. This local drink can compete with imported drinks. The panel test confirmed the good quality and the palatability of this drink. The study suggested the production of a concentrate out of natural Tabaldi juice, this will be the base for the beverage industry .To produce a concentrated "Tabaldi juice", water was evaporated using thermal energy. It was observed that as the thermal process proceeds, the negative effect of the juice quality became more evident. The study considered the amount of ascorbic acid in the concentrated juice during heating as an evidence for quality degradation with the increase of heating time. The amount of ascorbic acid increased at the beginning of concentration from 271 mg/100g when juice concentration was 8% (Brix) to 561.05 ml/100g when the juice concentrate was 15% (Brix), then the amount of ascorbic acid decreased to 476.77 ml/100g when juice concentration was 17% (Brix) as a result of prolonged heating and the reduction of water. One of the most important findings of this study is the possibility of the production of natural jam only from Tabaldi fruit pulp, sugar and pectin without the addition of any other ingredients like colour and flavour or organic acids. The sensory evaluation and chemical analysis of jam proved the good quality of this product, which can be regarded as a good addition to the types of jams already known in the Sudan. The pH value is one of the important factors which can influence jam making. The natural value of pH in the concentrate was 3.15, that is why the addition of organic acid to lower the pH was not needed. The results of the statistical analysis of the pH values of different concentrated juices showed no significant difference between value measured at different concentrations. The value of reduced and of invert sugars were within the permitted range. According to this study, the desired concentration of 68% (Brix) can be achieved in two ways: firstly by increasing the amount of added pectin from 10 g/1000 ml Tabaldi juice to 12 g/1000 ml Tabaldi juice. Secondly by increasing the Tabaldi concentration from 11% (Brix) to 14 (Brix) without changing the amount of pectin. According to the present study Tabaldi jam can also be processed without the addition of pectin depending on the amount of pectin found naturally in the pulp of Tabaldi fruit which is about 56%. Nevertheless, this type of jam is of inferior quality but it can be mad jells where in the rural areas, where the industrial pectin not always availableUOF