Search results

The purpose of this study is to assess the effect of a diet added with taro (Colocasia esculenta) flour on the body composition of rats.

Weanling male rats were divided into Control (n = 11) and experimental groups (Taro, n = 12); experimental rats were fed on taro for 90 days. Food intake, body mass and length were evaluated on a weekly basis. Body composition was assessed through dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and intra abdominal fat mass was measured at the end of 90 days.

Taro group recorded protein intake (55.5 ± 14.1 vs 43.8 ± 12.8 kcal, P < 0.009), body mass (between 40 and 90 days, P < 0.05), fat mass (147.3 ± 7.7 vs 99 ± 6.1 g, P < 0.001), lean mass (282.8 ± 4 vs 253.5 ± 7 g, P < 0.001), trunk fat mass (97.1 ± 7.7 vs 71.5 ± 4.1 g, P < 0.010), as well as intra-abdominal (31.3 ± 1.9 vs 21.1 ± 1.7 g, P < 0.001), epididymal (9.2 ± 0.8 vs 4.7 ± 0.5 g, P < 0.001) and retroperitoneal (14.2 ± 0.9 vs 8.8 ± 1.2 g, P < 0.002) fat mass higher than that of the Control group.

Taro flour would show anabolic effects on body compartments of rats. The extrapolation of these findings herein recorded for rats to humans requires caution; however, it is necessary conducting further studies to investigate potentials anabolic effects of taro (Colocacia esculenta) flour on the body composition of physical training models.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the demographic characteristics that influence the choice of retail outlet and the preferred retail outlet used by primary household shoppers when purchasing roots and tubers (R&Ts).

The study uses a binary logit model to estimate the probability of being a traditional or modern outlet shopper for R&Ts.

The traditional retail outlet was the preferred place to purchase R&Ts. Three demographic variables, age, monthly family income and ethnicity, were statistically significant.

The sample size might be considered small with only 232 primary household food shoppers participating.

To date, minimal research on the marketing of R&Ts has been undertaken in Trinidad and Tobago. As such, it is hoped that this study will stimulate others to undertake research in this area.

Between 2006 and 2011, Nicaragua shipped an average of US$9.4 million per year of smallholder-produced fresh taro (Colocasia esculenta) to the USA; however, by 2016, the US market for Nicaraguan taro had effectively collapsed. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the short-lived taro boom from the perspective of complex adaptive systems, showing how shocks, interactions between value chain actors, and lack of adaptive capacity among chain actors together contributed to the collapse of the chain.

Primary data were collected from businesses and smallholders in 2010 and 2016 to understand the actors involved, their business relations, and the benefits and setbacks they experienced along the way.

The results show the capacity of better-off smallholders to engage in a demanding market, but also the struggles faced by more vulnerable smallholders to build new production systems and respond to internal and external shocks. Local businesses were generally unprepared for the uncertainties inherent in fresh horticultural trade or for engagement with distant buyers.

Existing guides and tools for designing value chain interventions will benefit from greater attention to the circumstances of local actors and the challenges of building productive inter-business relations under higher levels of risk and uncertainty.

This case serves as a wake-up call for practitioners, donors, researchers, and the private sector on how to identify market opportunities and the design of more robust strategies to respond to them.

The purpose of this paper is to develop poundmix for reconstitution, such as pounded yam, from yam, cocoyam and breadfruit blends and to evaluate their nutritional compositions.

Pregelatinized flours of yam, cocoyam and breadfruit were prepared separately. Three coded samples of 30, 40 and 50 per cent composite blends of poundmix were formulated. The proximate composition, starch, vitamin C and mineral elements contents of the poundmix were determined and the results were subjected to statistical analysis.

The protein contents of poundmix samples were 5.6, 6.1 and 6.2 per cent for 30, 40 and 50 per cent composites, respectively, which is an increase from that of whole yam (4.8 per cent). Significant difference also existed between the starch content of the poundmix and that of the whole yam flour (p<0.05). However, there is no significant difference in the overall acceptability of the poundmix samples and that of the whole yam flour at p<0.05.

The paper's findings show that supplementing poundo yam at 40 per cent composite level has the best nutritional composition and organoleptic scores and so it is recommended for both household and industrial practice.

Green leafy vegetables (GLVs) are important components of a balanced diet especially in developing countries where the major requirements of micronutrients are met. However, GLVs also contain significant amounts of oxalate, nitrate and nitrites, whose role in the human diet is constantly changing. The current study explored the behavior of nitrate, nitrites and oxalate in lactic-fermented GLVs with an intention to develop functional foods based on them.

Selected strains of beneficial lactic acid bacteria were used for the controlled fermentation of GLV, while an identical portion was subjected to spontaneous fermentation. The nitrate and nitrites were monitored spectrophotometrically, while oxalate contents were quantified by both titrimetric and by high-performance liquid chromatography throughout the duration of fermentation.

More than 90 per cent of individual constituents studied remained intact in the GLVs paste after the six-day controlled fermentation period. However, there was significant difference between the controlled and spontaneously fermented samples in terms of oxalate, nitrate and nitrite contents.

Controlled lactic fermentation although superior in all other aspects may not be able to lower the anti-nutrients present. The advantages of spontaneous fermentation vis-à-vis controlled fermentation are discussed. The work will bring out the importance of the beneficial effects of GLVs and the effect of lactic fermentation.

The purpose of this paper is to develop poundmix for reconstitution as pounded yam, from yam, cocoyam, breadfruit and plantain and to evaluate their physico‐chemical and sensory properties.

Instant flour of the components was prepared separately and 30‐50 per cent composite blends of poundmix were formulated. The physico‐chemical, and sensory properties of the poundmix were determined and the results were subjected to appropriate statistical analysis.

The swelling capacities of the poundmix are 3.14±0.03, 3.13±0.04, 3.81±0.01 per cent for 30, 40 and 50 per cent composite levels, respectively, as against 2.27±0.04 per cent for yam flour. Whole yam flour compared well with the composites in terms of peak temperatures with the 40 per cent composite flour having the highest pasting temperature 93°C and 50 per cent composite with the lowest (72°C). However, the higher the composite level the lower the peak viscosity as 390, 260, 210, and 190 BU were recorded for 0, 30, 40 and 50 per cent composites, respectively (F=3.18, p<0.05).

These findings showed that supplementing poundo yam at 40 per cent composite level should be practiced as it gives the best physico‐chemical properties and sensory score.

To investigate the potential food, feed and industrial values of some tropical underutilized medicinal plant materials.

Dry‐milled plants, namely: Gongronema latifolium and Vernonia amygdalina were subjected to chemical analysis to determine their proximate, mineral, elemental, fatty acid and amino acid compositions using standard procedures.

Results show that the lipid extract, ash, crude fibre and nitrogen free extractives, oxalate, phytate and tannin of the plants are within expected ranges. They however had unexpectedly high crude protein content: 27.20 and 21.69 per cent, respectively. Potassium, phosphorus, calcium and cobalt were the most abundant mineral elements. G. latifolium and V. amygdalina leaf oils are 50.22 and 24.54 per cent saturated; 39.38 and 65.45 per cent polyunsaturated, respectively. Palmitic and oleic acids were the major monounsaturated fatty acids. Degrees of unsaturation are 0.46 and 0.41, respectively. Major essential amino acids are leucine, valine and phenylalanine. Proportions of essential to non‐essential amino acid are 43.37 and 49.84 per cent, respectively.

The nutritional composition of the plant materials suggests that they may find use in food/feed formulation operations and as industrial raw materials.

The invitation to write this chapter offers both Wiremu T. Puke (tangata whenua – person with Māori descent) and Sebastian J. Lowe (Pākehā – New Zealander with European ancestry) the opportunity to reflect on their friendship and research partnership, which they refer to as a takarangi, or an interlocking spiral, as seen in traditional Māori carving practice. This motif denotes the origin of all things: thoughts, ideas, concepts and genealogies, which are interconnected through a rich tapestry of history and tradition through a process of ongoing evolution, Te Ao Hurihuri (the ever-changing world) and Te Ao Mārama (the world of light).

They recognise the spaces that separate the two coils of the outward-radiating and interlocking spiral as their shared space. This space symbolises the unknowns as they move from them to tangible forms, through the written word, oral traditions, such as whakatauākī (sayings/proverbs), or through the many Māori visual arts such as whakairo (carving), or in film. Written as a dialogue between Puke, a tohunga whakairo (master-carver) with strong genealogical connections and tribal affiliations, and Lowe (anthropologist and musician) in recognition of their research partnership, this chapter discusses how their own cultural upbringings, personal and shared experiences, have contributed to the forming of their ever-expanding shared space. The ideas and themes they discuss have led to the formation of this chapter.

Against a milieu of fragmented research that documents indigenous practices related to food security, and the heterogeneous settings from which the studies have been conducted, this study aims to synthesize the evidence of indigenous knowledge-food security nexus to strengthen the call for the revitalization of indigenous knowledge (IK) as part of the mechanisms to manage food security challenges being aggravated by climate change.

Drawing on insights from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), this study reviews 122 articles accessed from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, which covered indigenous methods used for producing, gathering, processing, preserving and storing diverse food sources that indigenous people deploy in securing their food systems.

The surge in attention to focus on IK-food security nexus tends to be influenced by the growing acknowledgement of climate change impacts on food systems. Essentially, the IK-based practices adopted address all the four food security pillars that are specified by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) as availability, accessibility, utilization and stability. The main motivation behind the continued use of IK-based ways relates largely to the interest to be food secure against climatic shocks and partly to the desire to maintain people’s food cultures and food sovereignty.

This study deploys the food security pillars provided by the FAO (2012) to demonstrate that IK-based ways of food management are capable of addressing all the four food security dimensions, a critical observation toward revitalizing IK in managing growing food security challenges that are intensified by climate change in SSA.

The purpose of this study is to examine gender and rural economic relations of the Nrobo of Southeastern Nigeria. Specifically, the study was designed to examine the subsistence strategies, gendered role patterns and gender gaps in economic relations of the Nrobo.

This study used ethnographic methods of participant observation – adopting chitchatting and semi-structured interviews. Also, focus group discussion (FGD) was used to cross-check the validity of data from the other instrument.

This study found among other things, that although there is still verbal expression of gendered roles division, it does not mirror what actually obtains in society, except bio-social roles. Ideological superiority of men reflects the patrilineal kinship arrangement of society. Theoretically, some of the hypotheses of gender inequality theory were disputed for lack of adequate explanation of gender and economic relations in an egalitarian-reflected society such as Nrobo.

This study, to the best of my knowledge, is the first attempt to ethnographically examine gender and economic relations among this group. As such it adds to the corpus of ethnographies on the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria.