Abstract:
The Solanum torvum fruits are used generally in Ghanaian food preparations because
of the conviction that they are very nutritious and boost the blood level of lactating and
nursing mothers, pregnant women and anemic patients. The post-harvest losses of
turkey berry (Solanum torvum) are of higher rate in the country so this work sought to
investigate how these post-harvest losses can be minimized by drying it and popularise
the plant or crop so that farmers will cultivate it and get more money. The main aim of
this work was to determine the physiochemical properties of Solanum torvum fruits.
Proximate analyses of dried powdered fruits were therefore performed by using the
AOAC (200) (Association of Official Analytical Chemists). Atomic Absorption
Spectroscopy analysis of essential minerals was performed to ascertain the
concentrations of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium in the fruit. The results
indicated that the fruits possess high moisture content (78.34±1.22). The values for the
other parameters checked were fat 0.57±0.03 %, fibre 4.34±0.94%, protein
3.01±0.11%, ash 1.04±0.05 % and carbohydrate 12.70%. The results for minerals were
iron (12.90 to 14.85mg/100g), magnesium (0.019 to 0.036mg/100g), phosphorus
(0.093 to 0.135mg/100g) and sodium (0.055 to 0.208mg/100g). The values for antinutrient
are as follows tannins (0.61 to 0.75mg/100g), phytate (1.42 to1.65mg/100g),
oxalate (0.34 to 0.50mg/100g) and saponin (0.48to 0.65mg/100g). The high iron
content of the fruits proves the fact that the fruits truly have hematinic property. These
results obtained show that Solanum torvum fruits when dry do not only conserve the
fruits but also increase the nutritive composition per gram with the exception of
moisture content.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
EDUCATION, Faculty of VOCATIONAL EDUCATION, submitted to the
School of Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba, in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for award of the Master of Technology (Catering
and Hospitality) degree
NOVEMBER, 2016