CSIRSpace CSIR Ghana Digital Repository

Pleurotus, Lentinus and Ganoderma are mushrooms which have various properties and should be explored as bioresources for various uses such as biofertilizers for sustainable intensification of agriculture. Pleurotus, Lentinus and Ganoderma species and intra- and inter-specific/generic hybrids produced with the dual culture technique were evaluated for chitinase and esterase activities, phosphate solubilization ability, siderophore production, mycelia growth, and efficacy as biofertilizers usin...

Fifty randomly selected registered commercial poultry farms in two agro-eccological zones in Ghana were investigated for contributory factors for antibiotic use and abuse and the public health implications thereof by means of questionnaires, interviews and on-the-spot inspections. Our results indicated that despite the good educational background of farm managers that should inform decisions and actions after veterinary advice, 31 drugs - antibiotics, coccidiostats and an antihelminthic - wer...

Objective: Six different mushroom species (Termitomyces, Ganoderma, Amauroderma, Mycena, Marasmus and an unknown) were studied to ascertain their phytochemical and antioxidant properties and determine their TLC analysis of methanolic extracts. Materials and Methods:The DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) model was employed to determine free radical scavenging activity of the methanolic extracts of the mushrooms, aluminum chloride calorimetric method for flavonoid, Thin layer chromatography ...

Snack food consumption is an avenue for the young children of the world to meet their daily nutrient requirements. In recent times, biscuits and cakes prepared from a cocktail of grain and root crops have gained much popularity due to the versatile nature and nutritional quality of their composite flours. Flour samples prepared from broken rice fractions, soybeans, and orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) were used to develop appropriate formulations with wheat flour to obtain a final blend...

Vitamin A deficiency is a major public health problem in developing countries, specifically Ghana. The high beta-carotene content of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) may help alleviate vitamin A deficiency because beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A when consumed. It is hypothesized that complementary food formulated with OFSP, rice, soybean and cowpea or peanut would contain >50% of the estimated average requirement (EAR) of vitamin A for infants 6 to 12 months of age. Three differe...

Vegetable shito is a novel pepper sauce product developed to cater for the needs of vegetarians. Due to its increasing popularity, it is prudent to assure its safety through the implementation of a quality management system for its production. This work was aimed at developing and validating a HACCP system for the production of vegetable shito. The HACCP system was successfully developed and validated to ensure that critical limits established for the critical control points were adequate to ...

Food base approach is considered to be a more viable and sustainable method of addressing micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries. A study to develop suitable micronutrient-rich complementary infant foods was carried out and characterized using rice (Oryza sativa, var. Togo Marshal) and six other Ghanaian food ingredients; soybean (Glycine Max var. Afayak), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata, var. Bengpla), mango (Magnefera indica, var. Kent), red palm (Elaesis guineensis. var. Dura) oil, ...

Since the discovery of the fumonisins in 1988, extensive academic studies have generated much knowledge, including data on chemistry, biochemistry, toxicology, methods of analysis, natural occurrence in food supplies, fate during various processing procedures, and human and animal exposures. These mycotoxins have also been assessed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and have twice been the subject of risk assessments by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Addi...

Traditional processing and street vending of foods is a vital activity in the informal sector of the Ghanaian economy and offers livelihood for a large number of traditional food processors. Kenkey is a fermented maize ‘dumpling’ produced by traditional food processors in Ghana. Ga and Fante kenkey have received research attention and there is a lot of scientific information on kenkey production. White kenkey produced from dehulled maize grains is a less known kind of kenkey. A survey was he...

The characterization of microbiota from dairy products manufactured using traditional techniques without commercial starter cultures has been considered in the search for industrially important characteristics and for the selection of potential starter cultures. One dairy product which has gained an interest in the search for starter cultures is nyarmie, a Ghanaian fermented milk product manufactured from raw or pasteurised cow milk using traditional methods. Its unique organoleptic character...

Enzymatic hydrolysis in combination with gel-permeation and anion-exchange chromatography techniques were employed to characterise the composition of clusters and building blocks of amylopectin from two African rice (Oryza glaberrima) accessions—IRGC 103759 and TOG 12440. The samples were compared with one Asian rice (Oryza sativa) sample (cv WITA 4) and one O. sativa × O. glaberrima cross (NERICA 4). The average DP of clusters from the African rice accessions (ARAs) was marginally larger (DP...

Rice is a staple food worldwide. In this study, seven African rice (Oryza glaberrima) accessions (ARAs) were evaluated for grain quality attributes, pasting, thermal and in vitro digestion properties in comparison with two Asian rice (Oryza sativa) varieties (ARVs) and a developed cross (O. sativa × O. glaberrima cross). The ARAs were intermediate to high amylose rice types and their 1000-kernel weight and bulk densities were comparable to the ARVs. Volume expansion ratios of cooked kernels o...

This study characterized the nutritional and functional properties of cocoyam flour and evaluated the sensory properties of model products made from cocoyam-wheat composite. Proximate composition of cocoyam flour, physicochemical, functional, and pasting properties of cocoyam-wheat composite blends were determined by standard methods. Sensory evaluation of doughnuts, bread, and cookies was done by 50 panelists. Protein and ash content of cocoyam flour were 8.5% and 2.4%, respectively, wherea...

Background: Nutritional anaemia and vitamin-A deficiency are public health issues confronting Ghanaian children. Their adverse effects are likely pronounced during the dry season when green leafy vegetables, rich-sources of iron and provitamin-A are scarce. This study assessed the effect of dried green leafy vegetables on anaemia and vitamin-A status of Ghanaian school children. Method: This was 3 months pretest, posttest nutrition intervention study. Children 4–9 years were randomized to rec...

Many plant species that are suitable for food across the world are neglected and underutilized. In order to increase their diversified food uses and thus help enhance food and nutrition security, we studied the chemical and functional properties of Pachyrhizus erosus (yam bean), which is a neglected and underutilized legume species. The chemical properties of flour produced from the yam bean include 5.8% moisture content, 5.7% crude fat, 6.2% crude fiber, and 85% available carbohydrate, indic...

A survey was conducted to investigate the extent of adoption of root and tuber composite flour (RTCF) technology transferred among micro- and small-scale entrepreneurs (MSEs) in the bakery and pastry industry in Ghana. A total of 268 respondents were surveyed from the Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern, Volta, Western and Central regions in Ghana. The overall adoption rate of the RTCF technology among the 268 respondents was estimated at approximately 40%; Ashanti (75.7%), Eastern (43.1%), Volta (...