Comparative Study of Vitamin C Concentration in Boiled and Roasted Gonja.
Abstract
Gonja is a banana whose consumption for vitamin C and other nutritional benefits has risen in Uganda today. Unfortunately, the bananas (Gonja) fruits are mostly consumed cooked or roasted which reduces the concentration of vitamin C in them. Samples of the plantain (Musa paradisiaca and Musa acuminata) were obtained from the local farms located in the Rukiga district. A bunch of mature unripe Gonja was obtained from the farm for the two species (Musa paradisiaca and Musa acuminata) and transported in a cool dry bag and stored in a warm dry store for about a week to allow ripening. Fifteen fingers were detached randomly from each bunch and they were each divided into three groups so that each group had 5 fingers. The fingers in the first group were washed with clean water and then cooked in a saucepan until they were soft and ready for consumption. The fingers in the other group were peeled and then roasted on a charcoal stove while turning them regularly to allow even distribution of heat until they were wholly soft and ready for consumption. Fruits in the third group were peeled and then left raw (control experiment) 1 00g of prepared Gonja fingers from each group were then chopped using a sharp knife after which they were ground in separate motors using pestles to form pastes. 500ml of distilled water was added to each of the pasted Gonja followed by stirring and filtering. More distilled water was added to make 1-litre solutions. The concentration of vitamin C in each of the Gonja extracts was determined by redox titration of the extracts wth standard acidified potassium iodate solution in the presence of potassium iodide using a starch indicator. The study found that the fresh Gonja had the highest concentration of vitamin C (0.00063M, 0.00066M ) followed by the boiled Gonja (0.000345M, 0.00045M) while the roasted Gonja had the lowest concentration (0.00027M, 0.00036M) both in Musa paradisiaca and Musa acuminata respectively. People should consume raw and or boiled Gonja but not roasted.
Description
Keywords
Comparative Study, Vitamin C, Concentration, Boiled, Roasted Gonja
Citation
Birungi, Alido (2019). Comparative Study of Vitamin C Concentration in Boiled and Roasted Gonja. Kabale: Kabale University.