African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 6 (6), pp. 799-802, 19 March 2007   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2007 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Effects of cowpea fortification and the level of ripeness of plantain on the nutritive value of plantain based snack foods

Ann Nancy Etsey, Esther Sakyi-Dawson, Samuel Sefa-Dedeh, Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa, Kwaku Tano-Debrah  and George Amponsah Annor *    

Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana, P. O. Box LG 134, Legon-Accra, Ghana.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: gannor@ug.edu.gh.  Tel: +233243509215.

Accepted 7 March, 2006

To investigate effects of cowpea addition and level of ripeness of plantain on the nutritional and sensory characteristics of Kaklo and Ofam in Ghana, A 2X4 factorial experiment with firm and soft ripe plantain and cowpea fortification of 0, 10, 20 and 30% was designed. The proximate composition and accepta-bility of products using a 7-point hedonic scale were evaluated. With the addition of 30% cowpea, the protein content of the Kaklo from the firm ripe and soft ripe plantain increased from 2.92% to 7.32% and 3.65% to 8.05% respectively, whilst the protein of the Ofam from the firm and soft ripe plantain also increased from 3.80% to 8.45% and 3.75% to 8.15% respectively. The 10% fortified Kaklo and Ofam were the most acceptable. The cowpea addition significantly affected the nutritional value of the Kaklo and Ofam. To obtain an acceptable cowpea fortified plantain-based snack, the fortification should be done at 10%.

Key words: Cowpea, fortification, level of ripeness, plantain-based snacks.