Assessment of Nutritional Potential and Phytochemical Constituents of Cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium spp.) /Wheat Flour Composite Bread

Abstract

Cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta), a lesser-known root crop, is rich in dietary fibers, essential vitamins, and has been identified as a potential candidate for enhancing the nutritional profile of conventional wheat-based bread. This study sought to investigate the nutritional compositions and phytochemical properties of the composite bread produced from cocoyam (CYF) and wheat flour (WF) in vitro. The CYF and WF composite bread was prepared in various proportions of 100:0 (100% CYF), 50:50 (50% CYF:50% WF), 20:80 (20% CYF:80% WF), 10:90 (10% CYF:90% WF) and 0:100 (100% WF), and flavored with 2g of cocoa powder for the production of composite bread. The bread samples were investigated for calorific value, sensory evaluation, proximate analysis, mineral composition and phytochemicals constituents. The results revealed significant (p<0.05) decrease in the calorific value as compared to the control. However, sensory evaluation revealed a significant (p<0.05) increase in the aroma but no significant (P>0.05) difference in its taste, texture, colour and its general acceptability as compared to the control (100% WF bread). The proximate composition result revealed a significant increase in the moisture content of 100% CYF bread (22.39 ± 0.07) as compared to the control, 100% WF bread (18.15 ± 0.13). More so, the results of the K, Mg, Fe and Ca revealed significant (p<0.05) increase as compared to the control bread. Hence, it could be deduced that the bread produced from cocoyam / wheat flour blend could be a good source of antioxidants and also would be a recipe for patients with nutritional challenges