Production, Proximate, Mineral and Sensory Evaluation of Non-Alcoholic Beverage from Tubers: Sweetpotato and Tigernut

Purpose: The production of sweet potato and Tigernut drink was conducted and sampled A, B, C, and D at ratios 100% TND: 0%SPD, 90% TND: 10% SPD, 80% TND: 20%SPD, and 70%TND: 30%SPD respectively. Methodology: These were analyzed for proximate and mineral analysis using methods described by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists and sensory attributes using Lawless and Heymann (2010) method. The non-alcoholic beverage drinks were examined for moisture, carbohydrate, protein, fat, fiber, and ash contents. Results: The proximate analysis of the sweetpotato and Tigernut blended beverage drink revealed that the beverage is a nutrient dense commodity with health promoting ability and high level of fiber, fat, moisture, and protein at the same time low in carbohydrate and ash. The fat content ranged from 8.46% to 12.30%, the moisture, protein, fiber, carbohydrate, and ash had the range between 60.02% - 68.14%, 8.10% - 8.50%, 5.10% - 7.10%, 8.50% - 10.00%, and 0.46% - 1.04% respectively. The minerals include Zinc, Calcium, Sodium, and Potassium that were analyzed with values (mg/100g) ranged from 26.94-53.89, 42.65-63.32, 5.83-11.67, and 554.67-1166.67 mg/100 respectively. There were increase in the mineral contents especially Zn, Na, and K. The mineral content of this beverage is good for adolescence, infants, and groups facing macro-minerals impairments. The sensory attributes of the samples were evaluated for taste, aroma, colour, and general acceptability. Highest degree of preference for aroma and general acceptability were observed in sample D, followed by sample C. A high degree of preference for taste was also seen in sample B, C, and D. In conclusion, the sensory attributes were highly graded in terms of sensory quality. It was concluded that the processing this beverage drink has the potential of bridging the gap of extreme need for health supporting beverage drinks. It will also impact the marketing of sweetpotatoes, increase productivity and providing income for farmers more importantly sweetpotato growers.