ABSTRACT

The physicochemical composition, antioxidant and sensory properties of melon-seed coconut cheese was studied. The proximate composition mean values ranged from 51.45 to 59.93 % moisture, 9.84 to 20.15 % protein, 0.11 to 0.73 % crude fiber, 3.79 to 7.47 % fat, 1.41 to 2.10 % ash, 10.76 to 32.73 % carbohydrate and 190.77 to 204.33 Kcal energy. The mineral composition mean values ranged from 702.26 to 982.13 mg/100g calcium, 311.91 to 674.17 mg/100g sodium, 65.16 to 104.05 mg/100g magnesium, 35.25 to 50.12 mg/100g phosphorus, 129.13 to 160.22 mg/100g potassium, 2.82 to 5.87 mg/100g iron and 2.88 to 5.12 mg/100g zinc. The vitamin composition mean values also ranged from 371.03 to 440.27 mg/100g vitamin A, 0.38 to 0.76 mg/100g vitamin B1, 1.13 to 2.68 mg/100g vitamin B2, 1.38 to 3.81 mg/100g vitamin B3 and 0.38 to 0.62 mg/100g vitamin E. The mean values of the chemical composition of the cheese samples ranged from 6.13 to 6.97 pH, 0.07 to 0.19 % TTA and 40.08 to 48.55 % total solid. The antinutrient mean values ranged from 0.41 to 1.87 % alkaloid, 0.19 to 1.42 % saponin, 1.05 to 2.06 % tannin, 0.87 to 1.48 % phytate and 0.07 to 0.95 mg/kg cyanide. The result of the correlation coefficient showed that, flavonoid correlated (R2 = 0.671) positively with DPPH and FRAP assays while there was a strong negative correlation (R2 = -.873) between phenol and antioxidant activities (ABTS and FRAP). The sensory evaluation mean scores ranged from 5.10 to 7.14 appearance, 5.20 to 7.35 tatse, 6.10 to 6.90 flavour, 5.40 to 7.80 texture and 6.00 to 7.45 general acceptability. The study concludes that producing cheese from melon and coconut milk blend (30 % melon:70 % coconut cheese) may be a promising means of value addition and to further promote the utilization of coconut and melon milk beyond the traditional usage.