Nutrient composition, antioxidant activity and sensory properties of ready-to-use product from food flavouring plants Syzygium polyanthum (Wight) Walp.

Abstract

Utilization of Syzygium polyanthum (Wight) Walp. as a food flavouring and aroma enhancer plants seems to diminish over time. From a preliminary study, this problem is due to the difficulty of collecting the plants from the wild, longer preparation time and shorter shelf life even though it has the potential to be commercialized as a natural flavouring source. Therefore, this study was conducted to develop the ready-to-use (RTUP) product and evaluate the differences between the fresh leaves and the RTUP developed. The proximate composition was determined using standard AOAC methods. The antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH and FRAP assays. The rehydration ratio of RTUP was determined based on the effect of temperature on recovery time. Sensory test involving 80 semi-trained panellists was conducted to study the acceptability of product developed. Ready-to-used product has higher content of ash (6.61%), crude protein (6.83%), crude fat (3.28%), carbohydrate (84.68%), and energy (396.33 kcal/100 g). Scavenging capacity against free radicals between fresh leaves (1.7 mg/mL) and RTUP (1.4 mg/mL) showed no significant different meanwhile the ferric reducing power ability showed a significant difference at 9.4 mg/g and 5.6 mg/g respectively. This study recorded that the recovery time of RTUP decreases as the temperature increase. Furthermore, the panellist showed positive response toward sensory perception of RTUP. However, it is suggested to improve the formulation of RTUP in order to allow more functions and value to be domesticated.