Micronutrients Composition and Physicochemical Properties of Sprouted Gworo and Ojigbo Powders as Affected by Pre-drying Treatment

Most of the kola nuts are eaten raw during ceremonies and libations while dried ones are discarded as spoilt signifying a huge economic waste considering the industrial applications of their powder. This study tends to explore the effects of pre-drying treatments to preserve their nutrients and physicochemical properties. Both Gworo and Ojigbo kola nuts were procured, sorted to remove unwanted ones and each sample was divided into four batches. One batch which served as control was mashed into paste without pre-treatment. Another batch was dried without pre-treatment while the remaining two were respectively sprouted and blanched before oven drying. Both the raw mash and dried samples were analyzed for vitamin, minerals, physicochemical properties and their correlations. Results showed that vitamin A content of dried raw kola nut samples ranged from 473.09-502.02 µg/100g, B2 0.015-0.064 mg/100g, B3 0.894-1.327 mg/100g, C 176.24-189.21 mg/100g, calcium 2.66-3.15 mg/100g, zinc 1.32-1.88 mg/100g, pH 5.59-6.13, color 50.51-78.37, and caffeine 2.43-2.72 mg/100g. With sprouting, vitamin A ranged from 444.88-452.60 µg/100g, B2 0.015-0.114 mg/100g, B3 0.491-1.042 mg/100g, C 101.22-189.22 mg/100g, calcium 2.05-2.52 mg/100g, zinc 1.16-1.52 mg/100g, pH 5.66-5.90, color 37.67-52.83, caffeine 2.27-2.53 mg/100g. With blanching, vitamin A ranged from 425.83-467.55 µg/100g, B2 0.032-0.041 mg/100g, B3 0.911-0.949 mg/100g, C 139.65-176.03 mg/100g, calcium 1.92-2.13 mg/100g, zinc 1.06-1,07 mg/100g, pH 5.92-7.98, color 67.95-84.58, caffeine 2.11-2.32 mg/100g. Drying techniques affected the nutrients and physicochemical properties of both kola nut samples with sprouting having an edge. The vitamins had positive correlation with the minerals and the physical properties.