Abstract:
Pentadesma butyracea (African butter tree) is an oilseed crop valued for its nutritious solid
edible fat. High amount of oleic acid (53.1%), stearic acid (38.4%) and low amount of
palmitic and linoleic acids present in the butter show that it is highly nutritive and oxidatively
stable. It is enriched with stigmasterol (45% of total sterol). Due to the unawareness, this
tree remains
underutilized and its applications are still not explored in Sri Lanka. This study aimed to
explore the food applications of Pentadesma butter and to determine antioxidants, proximate
composition, and physico-chemical properties of Pentadesma butter biscuit (composite
biscuit). The biscuits were composed of flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt along with two
types of butter (Pentadesma butter and normal butter), considering normal butter serving as
the control. The moisture, total ash, crude fat, crude protein, crude fiber and carbohydrates of
the control biscuit were 4.1±0.1%, 1.5±0.03%, 11.3±0.6%, 10.4±0.3%, 0.9±0.03% and
75.9±0.04% respectively while the values of the composite biscuit were 4.4±0.01%,
2.0±0.08%, 17.7±0.6%, 8.4±0.3%, 0.9±0.02% and 70.9±0.1% respectively. Both composite
and control biscuits exhibited similar water activity levels (0.4±0.0), while there was a slight
difference in pH values (composite biscuit: 6.5±0.01; control biscuit: 5.9±0.02). The ascorbic
acid content was marginally low in the control biscuit (1.3±0.1) compared to the composite
biscuit (1.6±0.03). The control and the composite biscuits contained total sugar (7.6±0.0 and
8.5±0.0) and reducing sugar (0.3±0.0 and 0.2±0.0) respectively. The total phenolic content
and the total flavonoid content of the control and the composite biscuits were 53.3 mg gallic
acid equivalent (GAE)/g, 67.5 mg GAE/g and 22.2 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g, 24.4 mg
QE/g respectively. Sensory evaluation was conducted on both biscuits. The paired
comparison test, using a 9-point hedonic scale, indicated a significant difference (p<0.05) in
overall acceptability between the control and the composite biscuits. Composite biscuits were
highly accepted by the panelists due to their specific aroma, flavor, color and taste and had
higher levels of crude fat, crude protein, and total ash compared to the control. In conclusion,
Pentadesma butter biscuits are highly nutritious particularly owing to their beneficial fats.