NUTRITIONAL QUALITY AND ORGANOLEPTIC ACCEPTABILITY OF AKARA PREPARED FROM GERMINATED TEPARY BEANS

Abstract

Tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius G.), was germinated for 48 hours and used for akara preparation. Raw and germinated teparies and uncooked and cooked akara were analyzed for proximate and amino acid composition, vitamin A and ascorbic acid contents, trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA), and compared to that obtained using cowpeas. Protein and amino acid composition of cowpeas and raw teparies were similar. Vitamin A and ascorbic acid contents were low. Germination increased vitamin A and ascorbic acid contents but had little effect on protein content, amino acid composition, and TIA. In cooked akara, protein content dropped from 21.03-23.77% to 12.05-14.36%, ascorbic acid from 5.76-8.88% to 1.22-1.60%, and TIA from 12.41-12.98% to 9.15-11.25%. For sensory evaluation, no significant difference in color, texture, and flavor was found but for the overall acceptability, akara prepared from raw teparies was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) preferred to akara prepared using cowpeas and germinated teparies.