Abstract:
Worldwide, consumer demand is shifting towards foods that promote health besides
their nutritional benefits. Thus, food fortification and enrichment with various functional
ingredients have been introduced by the modification of processing steps. This study
aimed to determine the physicochemical, biochemical and organoleptic properties of ash
plantain corm flour incorporated low-fat set yoghurt produced without incorporating
gelatin. The yoghurt incorporated with 10% ash plantains corm flour gave the highest
preference score for set yoghurt. The percentage moisture, crude protein, crude fat,
crude fiber, and ash of the set yoghurt were found to be 71.67, 2.50, 0.70, 5.43, and
4.85, respectively. It was found that the Na, K, and Mg content of 10% ash plantains
corm flour incorporated yoghurt were 62, 148, and 24 mg/100g, respectively. The total
phenolic content was 0.0513 GAE mg/ml. The oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid,
cis- vaccenic acid and myristic acid are the predominant methyl esters found in the set
yoghurt (22.98%, 18.97%, 14.07%, 9.22% and 6.83%, respectively), as revealed by GCMS
analysis. The monosaccharides, polysaccharides, phosphorylated carbohydrates, and
protein derivatives are the distinctive functional groups identified through the FTIR
analysis. Coliforms were not detected in the set yoghurt, while the total plate count
was also within the acceptable limit during the storage period. The physicochemical,
microbiological, and organoleptic properties of yoghurt are in compliance with the SLS
standards and reported a shelf-life period of 14 days without adding any preservatives.
In conclusion, 10% of ash plantain corm flour can be effectively incorporated into the set
yoghurt formulation by improving its functional properties and proven higher gelation
properties, being a better alternative for animal-origin gelatin.
