EVALUATING THE PRODUCTION AND QUALITY OF PASTA FROM AERIAL YAM AND SOYBEAN FLOUR BLENDS VIA SINGLE-SCREW EXTRUSION

Pasta produced from aerial yam and soybean flours blend using single-screw extruder was evaluated for some quality characteristics, namely; anti-nutritional factors, sensory properties, proximate composition and functional properties. Standard laboratory analytical methods were adopted in the quality evaluation of the pasta. Results of the analyses for anti-nutritional factors show that the pasta contained 2.63mg/100g tannin, 59.61mg/100g oxalate, 17.48mg/100g phytate, 1.42mg/100g hydrogen cyanide, and 1.03% alkaloids. Sensory evaluation shows that the scores were: 5.72 for texture, 5.66 for taste, 6.11 for appearance, 6.30 for aroma, and 5.51 for overall acceptability. Proximate compositions were: 3.19% moisture content, 3.57% fibre content, 5.07% ash content, 35.89% protein content, 23.86% lipid content, and 30.11% carbohydrates content, while energy value was 478.88kcal. Functional properties were: 0.6969g/cm3 bulk density, 2.60g/g water absorption capacity, and 1.72g/g oil absorption capacity. The results of quality evaluation of the pasta obtained can attest to the fact that it is possible to obtain expanded products from aerial yam and soybean flours blend, using extrusion processing technology, that possess desirable