ABSTRACT

 This research was aimed at developing a functional drink made from blends of sprouted garlic, ginger and turmeric enriched with watermelon juice to raise its nutritional qualities, physiochemical and antioxidant properties. Furthermore, evaluation of the quality of functional drink was realized with blends at (100:0:0), (0:100:0), (0:0:100), (70:10:20), (20:70:10), (10:20:70) and (33.3:33.3:33.3) ofsprouted garlic, ginger and turmeric enriched with watermelon juice. The proximate composition ofthe functional drink was determined. The sprouted blends improved the nutritional quality in terms ofprotein, ash (mineral), and fibre contents of the juices. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the proximate composition ofthe blended samples with sample OAN7 recording the highest protein content of 4.32 % than the control samples scoring to 1.77 to 1.97 %. The vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals and physicochemical properties of the blends were also evaluated. The phytochemical properties were appreciably low in all the samples and this showed thatsprouted garlic, ginger and turmeric may be suitable in the production ofdifferent functional drink products. The minerals; calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, zinc, iron and sodium evaluated showed that the sprouted garlic, ginger and turmeric were appreciably high and rich in minerals. Sensory characteristics ofthe functional drink which includes; appearance, taste, texture, aroma and general acceptability were evaluated and the most ofpanelists accepted and preferred the drink OAN4 produced with (70:10:20)more than other ratios. The obtained unique nutritional and organoleptic characteristics of functional drink produced from blends ofsprouted garlic, ginger and turmeric enriched with watermelon juiceopen a new promising prospect for utilization of garlic, ginger and turmeric in an industrial scale for treatment and prevention of chronic diseases like carcinogenic, oxidative stress, inflammatory, poor digestion and poor vitamin intake in developing counties.