Abstract:
The banana pseudo-stem is an underutilized by-product of banana cultivation and
is available throughout the year in Sri Lanka. It is rich in dietary fiber with many
health benefits. The study was aimed to develop a banana pseudo-stem
incorporated chip and evaluate its proximate composition and shelf-life. Initially
fresh banana pseudo-stem was chopped, boiled and ground to fine paste. The dough
was formulated by partially replacing wheat flour with boiled paste (wheat flour:
pseudo-stem paste, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, and 50:50), where the dough without the
banana pseudo-stem paste was considered as a control (100:0). The cut dough was
fried (180 ℃, 10-15 minutes) using coconut oil to prepare chips. Based on the
sensory evaluation results, 70:30 wheat flour to banana pseudo-stem was selected
as the best formulation. Then the proximate analysis was carried out for ground raw
and boiled banana pseudo-stem samples. According to the results, raw pseudo-stem
was exhibited the highest proximate composition than boiled stem. For the best
formulated chips and control, the proximate composition of ash (2.43±0.01%),
crude fiber (3.08±0.10%), and crude fat (26.42±0.33%) contents were significantly
higher (p<0.05) in the best-formulated chip compared to the control. There was no
significant difference in control and best-formulated chip for moisture, crude
protein, and total reducing sugar. Shelf-life analysis such as visual observations,
moisture content, and total plate count for both chips was carried out in two weeks
for three packing methods (normal, vacuum, and nitrogen gas) using polythene as
packaging material at room temperature (25 ℃). The results of this study show that
they can be stored for up to two weeks without any remarkable changes in the
organoleptic and microbial qualities with the evidence of no bacterial and fungal
colonies in both control and best-formulated chip during 1st and 2nd weeks of
storage. However, a prolonged study is needed to ensure the shelf life of the
produced chip. Among the packing methods studied, nitrogen packing was found to
be the best packing method compared to others. Overall, the banana pseudo-stem
could be a potential source to replace the wheat flour in making healthier chips with
good keeping and eating qualities.
