R. M. O. Kayode

Microbiological evaluation of watermelon juice treated with serendipity berry (Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii) extract

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) fruit is among numerous fruits that has a high moisture content and is therefore desirable for human consumption. In order to ensure its availability all through the year, processing into juice and other valuable processes are being carried out in order to reduce the rate of spoilage and watermelon juice losses. The high moisture content in fruits makes them highly susceptible to spoilage. Watermelon juice and extract of serendipity berry (Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii) were blended together in the following ratios: sample A (100 ml+10 ml), sample B (100 ml+20 ml), sample C (100 ml+30 ml), sample D (100 ml+40 ml), and sample E (100 ml+50 ml) respectively, while pure watermelon juice served as a control sample. Microbial and sensory analyses of the samples were evaluated over twelve weeks of storage. Over the period of storage, the results showed that microbial load of the control sample ranged between 1.1x10-9.7.6x10 cfu/ml, while treated samples ranged between 0.2 x10 1.4x10 cfu/ml, with some of the treated samples having negligible growth <10 cfu/ml. Results from the study confirmed that pure watermelon juice was highly susceptible to a microbial attack due to the absence of a preservative, and large volume of microbial loads was recorded, while the treated samples that included serendipity berry extract, which functioned both as a sweetener and a preservative, had fewer microbial loads over same period of storage. The sensory evaluation result showed that sample C (100 ml watermelon juice + 30 ml of serendipity berry extract) was rated the best in terms of taste, aroma and general acceptability, while sample D (100 ml watermelon juice + 40 ml of serendipity berry extract) was rated highest for colour.

Effects of dietary levels of chemically treated Terminalia catappa fruit waste with or without enzyme supplementation for pullet chicks

An experiment to investigate the replacement value of Terminalia catappa fruit waste (TCFW) for maize in the diet of pullet chicks was carried out. A gross (144) silver brown highline breed pullet chicks at day old were randomly allocated to six dietary treatments in a 3 x 2 factorial design feeding trial, to study the replacement effects on performance, nutrient retention and some body weights of chicks. TCFW was subjected to povidone to detoxify the phytotoxins and supplemented with or without Xylanase to degrade the high fibre and included in diets at 0, 30.6 and 63.52% replacing 0, 50 or 100% respectively of maize while Nutrase xyla (NX) was supplemented at 0 or 100ppm. There were statistically significant differences in performance parameters- feed intake, feed efficiency and high mortality was recorded on diets with high inclusion level of the waste (p 0.05). It was concluded that TCFW treated with povidone and supplemented with NX could replace 50% of maize in diet for poultry and that further research be conducted on treatment methods to make higher inclusion level of the waste possible. JARD Vol. 4 (2) 2005: pp. 176-186