Enhancing the Techno-Functional Properties of Sorghum Ogi via Starter Culture Fermentation and Mixed-Spice Incorporation

Sorghum ogi is a traditional fermented cereal-based porridge that holds significant nutritional value and cultural importance. It is usually consumed as a breakfast gruel for adults and weaning food for infants. This study was carried out to determine the effect of ginger and garlic incorporation into sorghum mash for Lactobacillus fermentum starter culture controlled fermentation into ogi. The ogi composited blends were produced by adding ginger (5, 15 and 25%) and garlic (5%) in proportional gradients into sorghum ogi (70, 80 and 90%), while 100% sorghum ogi served as control. The proximate nutrient composition, microbial analysis, mineral concentrations (calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and sodium), colour measurements and sensory (organoleptic) profile analysis of the resulting samples were carried out. The moisture content ranged from 0.67% to 3.05%, ash from 0.25% to 0.78%, crude fibre and crude fat 0.46% to 3.08% and 0.52% to 3.08%, respectively, and carbohydrate content 74.87% to 94.13%. The sodium contents ranged from 46.77 to 55.05 mg/ 100 g, potassium, zinc, calcium, iron and phosphorus contents ranged from 82.15 to 95.05 mg/100 g, 1.29 to 1.51 mg/100 g, 35.60 mg/100g to 39.15 mg/100g, 0.74 to 1.19 mg/100 g and 9.69 mg/100g to 13.21 mg/100g, respectively, with the overall acceptability of the samples having mean scores ranging from 5.53 to 7.40 where sample S100 was adjudged to be the most acceptable, while sample SGG90 with combined spices (5% garlic+5% ginger) was the second acceptable one during sensory evaluation that was carried out with 50 untrained panelists. Hence, Ogi with combined spices could be useful as food for the aged and sick people with little or no appetite. The study also revealed that fortification with ginger and garlic led to notable changes in the nutritional content and bioactivity of sorghum ogi as the increasing proportions of ginger were associated with enhanced levels of bioactive compounds, such as antioxidants, polyphenols, and essential minerals. The study established that the inclusion of ginger and garlic enhanced the properties of the enriched sorghum ogi samples.