Investigation of Unripe Plantain (Musa Paradisiaca) Powder as Possible Enrichment Ingredient for Yoghurt.

Abstract

The investigation of the effect of supplementing yoghurt with unripe plantain powder has been carried out. Plantain is one of the healthiest foods in the world in terms of its nutrient content. The study was conducted by adding unripe plantain powder at different concentrations (5, 10, and 15% weight/weight) into reconstituted powdered milk solution, pasteurized, inoculated with lactobacillus delbrueckii spp. Bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus and then incubated at 45 O C to pH 4.30. A control without unripe plantain powder was also prepared. The resulting products were stored at 5 O C and evaluated for various physical and chemical properties. The lactic acid concentration profile and pH was monitored during incubation to ascertain the effect of the supplement on the viability of lactobacillus delbrueckii spp. Bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus. At all concentrations studied, unripe plantain addition neither significantly affected the growth of the microorganism nor caused any modification of nutritional parameters. In conclusion, these results suggests powdered unripe plantain as a valuable ingredient to enrich yoghurt