ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to assess the nutrient quality of biscuits made from composite flours of local grains and ginger. Maize, African yam bean and ginger were purchased from local retailers at Ndoru market in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Enugu state, Nigeria and processed into flour. Four biscuit samples were produced from the flour blends in the following ratios, 60:35:5%, 35:60:5%, 58:40:2%, and 40:58:2%. A commercial biscuit (Fibre active biscuit) was used as a control. All the biscuit samples including the control were subjected to proximate analysis, minerals and vitamins determinations, rheological testing, and sensory evaluation using a nine point hedonic scale. The data obtained were statistically analyzed using mean, standard deviation, analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test the level of significance, and Duncan’s multiple range test to compare the means. The contributions of the biscuits to the daily energy requirement and the reference nutrient intake (RNI) for adults aged 31 – 50years was also determined. The proximate analysis showed that the moisture contents of the biscuits ranged from 3.08 – 8.80%, protein (1.56 – 18.94%), fat (11.05 – 24.84%), crude fibre (2.15 – 8.13%), ash (1.36 – 2.51%), and carbohydrate (40.91 – 80.80%) as consumed. The result for the minerals and vitamins determination showed that the calcium content of the biscuit samples ranged from 20.02 – 40.04mg/100g, iron (140.14 – 410.41mg/100g), magnesium (140.14 – 320.32mg/100g), vitamin A (102.13 – 140.43mcgRE), niacin (110.11 – 330.33mg/100g), and riboflavin (120.12 - 290.29mg/100g).The rheological testing showed that the compressive strength of the biscuits ranged from 32.37 – 58.46N/m2, and hardness (79.10 – 621.56N/m2).The results of the sensory evaluation indicated that all the biscuit samples were generally acceptable for all evaluated parameters as none scored below the minimum acceptable rating of five on a 9 point hedonic scale. A 100g of all the biscuit samples contributed 16.09%, 16.07%, 15.32%, 16.47%, 16.05% and 20.48%, 20.45%, 19.50%, 20.96%, 20.43% of calories to the daily energy requirements for adults aged 31 – 50years (male and female) respectively. Based on the results, it is certain that biscuits of acceptable quality can be produced from combinations of Maize, AYB, and ginger flours.