The use of native starches in the food industry is significantly limited due to the inferiority that has been established in their functional and pasting properties. Studies conducted justify that modified starches offer superior desirable properties that make them more applicable in food product development. It has also been reported that composite flours have enhanced anticipated physicochemical properties including a balance of nutrients necessary to tackle the widespread malnutrition. The study aims at establishing inclusion levels of tamarind seed powder that could confer desirable physicochemical properties in sweet potato flour whilst contributing positively to sensory acceptability of the prepared porridge. Besides the richness of nutrients and minerals, the motive for inclusion of tamarind kernel/seed powder is its pectin content and xyloglucan which are reliable in improving viscosity and paste clarity. To examine the hypotheses that the addition of tamarind seed powder would significantly impact on the physicochemical and sensory acceptance of sweet potato pastes, an experimental study was conducted. Inclusion levels of tamarind kernel powder into sweet potato flour was established based on previous threshold studies found to impact the physicochemical and sensory acceptability of products in which tamarind kernel powder had been added. The different formulated samples were subjected to testing using different data collection tools such as Rapid Visco Analyzer for pasting properties, and UV Spectrophotometer for taking absorbance. Tests were replicated and data analysis done using one-way analysis of variance. The results showed significant (p<0.05) deviations for most of the tested parameters as hypothesized. The observations for WSI, SP, WAC, and bulk density ranged from 55.49-60.83%, 17.98-23.11g/g, 2.32-2.64ml/g and 0.62-0.68g/ml respectively. Addition of TKP decreased transmittance from 21.6 to 2.31%, while increasing peak viscosity from 275.75 to 392.13 RVU, trough viscosity from 120.71 to 189 RVU, breakdown from 155 to 203 RVU, final viscosity from 239.17 to 351.29 RVU, setback from 118.46 to 162.29 RVU, peak time from 4.27 to 4.7 min. The composite flour with 10% TKP obtained the highest overall acceptability with 6.65 rank on a 9-point hedonic scale. These findings confirm the potential to utilization of tamarind kernel powder as source of natural polysaccharide to enhance the physicochemical properties of food products while delivering a great deal of nutrients, micronutrients and antioxidants. The functional properties of the composite flour in this study have revealed that the flours would be a fit for formulation of food products for weaning children.

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