Production and Characterization of Fruit Bars Produced from the Mucilaginous Pulp of Garcinia kola

Fruit bars were produced from exotic Garcinia kola fruit pulp puree at different concentrations. The bars were sweetened using 'date fruit paste', aspartame and sucrose. Hydrocolloids such as guar gum, xanthan gum and gelatin were added for stabilization. Analysis of the sensory results showed that the aspartame sweetened bars were preferred for their crispiness, taste color and mouthfeel. Further characterization of the bar samples with overall acceptability score ≥ 5.0 indicated that while fruit bars sweetened with aspartame and stabilized using gelatin was higher in crude protein content, the sucrose sweetened bars had higher carbohydrate content. The energy values of the bars ranged between 265.59 and 348.15 kcal/100g. Essential minerals were present in appreciable amounts in the fruit bars samples in this order: potassium>calcium>phosphorus>sodium>magnesium>iron>zinc. The results also showed that the G. kola fruit bars were low in antinutrients and contains beneficial antioxidants and bioactive compounds such as vitamin E, flavonoids, carotenoids, tannins, alkaloids and phenols. The pH of the bars (3.0 – 4.0) and the acidity values (0.16 – 0.22%) is an indication of potential shelf stability of the bars.