Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) flour is rich in health-promoting compounds that can improve the nutritional benefits of baked products when blended with wheat flour. However, the flour particle size and blend proportion may affect the quality properties and consumer acceptability of bakery products. This study investigated the effect of flour particle sizes and blend proportions on the physical, nutritional, textural and sensory properties of peeled and unpeeled OFSP composite flour cookies. Peeled and unpeeled OFSP flours (≤ 250 μm and ≤ 500 μm particle size) were produced, and each was used to replace soft wheat flour at the rate of 0 to 100% for cookies formulation. The results obtained showed that substitution of wheat flour with OFSP flours significantly (p < 0.05) decreased cookies baking loss, thickness, volume, crust lightness (L*) but increased diameter, spread ratio, crust redness, yellowness, contents of ß-carotene, vitamin A, ascorbic acid, total phenolics and flavonoids, and the antioxidant capacity. The hardness and fracturability of the OFSP-based cookies ranged between 1.389 and 10.142 kg and 0.873 and 9.431 kg, respectively, whereas the values of the control cookies were 1.281 ± 0.003 kg and 1.274 ± 0.003 kg, respectively. The effect of flour particle size on the physical and nutritional properties of cookies was insignificant (p > 0.05). However, the ≤ 250 μm particle size flour cookies had higher overall acceptability than the ≤ 500 μm particle size flour cookies. The unpeeled OFSP composite cookies had higher bioactive compounds concentrations except for ascorbic acid but had lower overall acceptability than the peeled OFSP cookies. Generally, the 30% peeled OFSP composite flour cookies had the highest consumer acceptability.

Malnutrition has been a serious issue in Ghana and Africa as a whole. However, the potential of many indigenous fruits to combat it has not yet been tested. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the nutritional characteristics of four underutilized wild fruits (Gardenia erubescens, Sclerocarya birrea, Diospyros mespiliformis, and Balanites aegyptiaca) of dietary interest in Ghana. The nutritional and antinutritional characteristics of the fruits were analyzed according to standard methods (laid down by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists and other well-known researchers) on a dry weight (dw) basis. The nutritional value of the fruits was high enough to contribute to the nutrient requirements of humans, with their iron (0.34–1.46 mg/100 g), zinc (0.81–2.97 mg/100 g), vitamin A (0.84–2.03 mg/100 g), and β-carotene (64.84–176.89 mg/100 g) contents worth special mention. The antinutrient content also ranged between 0.06–1.82 mg/g. Therefore, it is evident from the study that the fruits, although containing some levels of antinutrients, are nutrient-dense, suggesting their potency in fighting malnutrition in humans.

Gardenia erubescens fruits are regarded as nutrient-dense, capable of promoting nutritional and metabolic human health. However, they are seasonal and highly perishable which limits their consumption and wider utilization. In this study, the effect of slice thickness (3 mm and 5 mm), pretreatments (steam blanching and dipping in ascorbic acid solution) and drying air temperature (40 °C, 50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C) on drying kinetics, color, β-carotene and vitamin C content of Gardenia erubescens fruits were investigated. The results showed that the drying time increased as slice thickness increased, and decreased as drying air temperature increased but did not follow any trend for pretreatment. The Page model (R² values of 0.9998-0.9999) exhibited the best fit to the drying kinetics data. The diffusivity values (5.31 × 10^-11 to 4.14 × 10^-10 m²s^-1) increased as the slice thickness and drying air temperature increased but had no linear trends with pretreatment. The activation energy ranged from 14.35 to 44.78 kJmol^-1, with the highest being recorded by 5 mm untreated samples and the lowest by the 3 mm blanched samples. The total color change (ΔE*) of the samples generally decreased as the drying air temperature increased but increased as the slice thickness increased. The ascorbic acid pretreated samples had the least color change, followed by the untreated samples while the blanched samples had the highest change. Overall, the 5 mm ascorbic acid pretreated samples dried at 70 °C had the least color change (13.33 ± 0.52). The blanching and dipping in ascorbic acid solution generally yielded lower β-carotene and vitamin C values as compared to the untreated samples. The 3 mm ascorbic acid pretreated samples dried at 50 °C recorded the lowest β-carotene (42.70 ± 3.21 μg/100 g) while the 5 mm ascorbic acid pretreated samples had the lowest vitamin C (37.50 ± 2.65 mg/100 g) at 70 °C. Pretreatments and drying air temperatures showed mixed effects on the drying characteristics, color, β-carotene and vitamin C contents of fruit slices. The findings, therefore, indicate that a compromise may have to be made on the aforementioned processing conditions in order to meet the desired attributes of one's interest.

Glycine max is considered as an economically important grain crop with varied potential health merits in reducing chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity, immune disorders, etc. These biofunctional and health-promoting claims have been associated with the soy bioactive phytochemicals, or secondary metabolites derived during processing or digestion. That is the main bioactive component to enter the systemic circulation and reaching the targeted organs. However, per our knowledge, only recently have scientists started to pay special attention to the bioavailability and bioaccessibility of soybean bioactive compounds. This current review attempts to describe evidence-based information on the therapeutic and nutritional importance of soybean phytochemicals and the implications on general health. In addition, the bioavailability, metabolism, and biotransformation as well as the safety and efficacy of soybean phytochemicals, were explored since these are of significance for potential application in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, clinical trials are needed to confirm such functional properties in humans. All data of in silico, in vivo, and in vitro research and their impact on health were collated and orchestrated from a library database and electronic search engines (PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar).

Orange fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) has great potentials to improve the nutritional benefits of bakery products when processed into quality flour. This study investigated the effects of sieve particle sizes (250 μm and 500 μm) and flour blend proportions on the physicochemical, nutritional, functional and pasting properties of peeled and unpeeled OFSP composite flours. Peeled OFSP composite flours had significantly (p < 0.05) higher crude protein (CP), lightness (L*), oil absorption capacity (OAC) and water solubility (WS) but lower crude fiber (CF), bioactive compounds (except ascorbic acid), water absorption capacity (WAC) and swelling capacity (SC) than the unpeeled OFSP composite flours. The sieve particle size had no significant (p > 0.05) effect on nutritional and pasting properties. However, OFSP-based flours sieved with 500 μm mesh particle size had a significantly (p < 0.05) higher WAC and SC but a lower WS than corresponding 250 μm mesh flours. The proportions of flour blends greatly (p < 0.001) influenced all quality properties of OFSP composite flours. Generally, OFSP composite flours had higher CF, bioactive compounds, WAC, SC and WS, but lower CP, fat, OAC and pasting properties than wheat flour. The quality properties indicated that peeled and unpeeled OFSP flours sieved with a 250 μm or 500 μm mesh size have great potentials as ingredients in the bakery industry.

The shea fruit pulp (SFP), a by-product generated during the processing of shea fruit, is a vital source of phytochemicals for the development of functional foods. This study determined the effect of partial substitution of wheat flour with SFP (0–25%) on the physicochemical, total carotenoids (TC), total phenolics content (TPC), antioxidant activity (AA), and sensory properties of cookies. The bromatological analysis showed that crude fiber, fat, and total ash contents of the SFP-enriched cookies increased by 155.3-565.8%, 1.7–6.8%, and 22.2-111.3%, respectively while moisture, crude protein, and available carbohydrate contents decreased by 10.0-44.9%, 3.1–17.5%, and 1.0-2.9%, respectively with increasing addition of SFP in the cookies. The SFP-enriched cookies had significantly higher TC (183.25-627.49 µg/100 g) and TPC (79.06–185.20 mg GAE/100 g) and AA (28.20-61.58%, inhibition) than the 100% wheat flour cookies, control (2.90 ± 0.14 µg/100 g for TC, 53.81 ± 5.70 mg GAE/100 g for TPC, and 15.79 ± 1.03% for AA). The incorporation of SFP in cookies decreases the thickness and whiteness index by 3.9–24.0% and 4.5–26.9%, respectively, but increases the spread ratio by 5.5–37.9% and the browning index by 10.3–87.4% as compared with the control cookies. Based on the sensory evaluation results, the 25% SFP-enriched cookie had the highest scores for taste, aroma, and texture whiles the 15% SFP-enriched cookie had the best rating for color and overall acceptability. It is conclusive that SFP could be utilized for the industrial production of cookies to enhance the nutritional, antioxidant, and sensory properties of the baked product. Nonetheless, enzymatic browning of the shea fruit pulp is a major limitation, and therefore, rapid processing of fruits and cold storage of the SFP is required to prevent the browning reactions of the SFP. Graphical Abstract