A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF PROCESSING METHODS ON THE TOXICOLOGICAL COMPONENT OF UKPO MUCUNA SLOANEI

A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF PROCESSING METHODS ON THE TOXICOLOGICAL COMPONENT OF UKPO MUCUNA SLOANEI)

ABSTRACT

Mucuna Sloanei “Ukpo” seeds were cleaned and broken to expose the cotyledons. The cotyledons were cut into three equal pieces. A piece was roasted in hot ash for 50 minutes, while another portion was boiled at 1000 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. As a control, a raw sample was used. Prior to analysis, the sample was processed, sieved, and packaged. The flour sample was anti-nutritional analyzed using established procedures. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to statistically assess the results. At a 95% confidence level, the means were separated using the least significant difference (LSD). As a result of the results, some components were reduced by roasting while others were reduced by boiling. Phytate had the highest percentage (80.41-73.73%), while Alkaloid had the lowest (0.58-0.50%). Thus, a combination of dry and wet heat treatment, as well as other pre-processing processes, should be used to lower the anti-nutrient to an acceptable level.

CHAPITRE ONE

INTRODUCTION

Ukpo (Mucuna Sloanei) is a legume native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the world. It is a food thickener that originated in Asia and was introduced to the Western Hemisphere (Akpata, 2001). It is also known as horse eye bean and other local names depending on tribes and ethnic groupings. It is known as Ukpo by Ibos, “Karasuu” by Hausas, and “Yerepe” by Yourbas (Ayozie 2010). They are members of the legume family. Other mucuna species found in tropical places around the world include Mucuna urensi, Mucuna Pruriens, and Mucuna veracrua (Ezueh and Mozie, 2004).

Mucuna sloanei (UKPO”) is nutritionally significant because to its high protein and lysine content. They are typically restricted in sulfur containing amion acids and partly methioine. They contain more phosphorus but less calcium (Okaka et al, 2006). Ukpo (Mucuna sloanei) has a protein content of 20.0-25.4%, a CHO content of 43.3%-49%, a fat content of 5.05-7.0%, a crube fiber content of 25.0-27.4%, and a moisture content of 6.4%-14.4% (Akpata and Machi, 2001).

Ukpo (Mucuna Sloanei) is utilized as a soup thickening in a variety of soups (Udensi, 2004). When the seeds are cracked, the cotyledons are cooked to soften them and ground into power in the eastern region of Nigeria. The seeds and colyledons are occasionally broken and toasted with hot ash before being ground and used as a soup thickener. Ukpo possesses gelation qualities that are employed in soup in addition to thickening. This is a favorable characteristic for eating garri, fufu, pounded yam, and other similar foods. It has been found that heat treatment improved the nutritive value of various mucuna utiles by reducing their anti-nutritional factor content (Manssour et al 1993) Ukachukwu and Udesi 2002, et al, 2004).

Food thickeners are used by millions of Nigerians. Thickening agents, often known as thickeners, are substances that, when added to a mixture, improve its viscosity without significantly altering its scent. They improve the stability and suspending action of a combination. They are currently produced on a cottage industry scale that varies by ethic group and area.