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University of Mauritius (UoM)

Page history last edited by Sudesh Puchooa 12 years, 1 month ago

UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS

FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

 

PROJECT 1:

 

Development of value-added products from breadfruit

 

Principal Investigator: Dr A. Ruggoo

Co-investigator 1: Mrs D. Goburdhun

Co-investigator 1: Mr N. Boodia

 

 

  1. Objectives

 

 

  1. Characterise breadfruit varieties from different geographic regions of Mauritius
  2. Investigate the effect of substituting wheat flour by up to 25% of breadfruit flour on dough rheological properties and bread quality
  3. Develop a minimally-processed frozen ‘wedge/slice’ breadfruit product

 

 

  1. Summary

 

The project has been formulated in the context of our over dependence on imported wheat flour and the need to use locally available resources for our consumption. Breadfruit is high on the government agenda for the role it can play in food security and income generation at the national level. The study attempts to increase value of breadfruit, which can become an important staple food with a high economic value in Mauritius. The main objectives of this study are to characterise the various breadfruit varieties in Mauritius in terms of its location and proximate composition.  The fruit will be mainly analysed for moisture, ash, crude fibre, crude protein, crude fat and carbohydrate. The use of composite flours whereby flour from the locally grown breadfruit replaces a portion of wheat flour will also be investigated via its rheological properties.  The properties assessed will be dough deformation energy, overpressure and average abscissa to rupture (dough extensibility).  Falling number will also be determined to assess alpha amylase activity. Bread quality will be assessed in terms of bread volume, crumb softness. Finally a minimally processed frozen ‘wedge/slice’ will be developed as a snack food item for the fast food service sector.  The protocol of Omobuwajo (2003) [Omobuwajo T.O. (2003): Compositional characteristics and sensory quality of biscuits, prawn crackers and fried chips produced from breadfruit.  Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 4(2), 219-225.] will be adapted to formulate the novel product.  Consumer acceptability tests will be conducted to evaluate the product. Some of the tests will be carried out at Les Moulins de la Concorde (LMLC) and procedures have been initiated to formalise this collaboration.

PROJECT 2:

 

Oven baked as compared to deep fat fried breadfruit chips

Introduction

In the context of food security in Mauritius, the Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security is trying to focus more on underutilised crop like breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) as a potential substitute for important starch food product. Breadfruit is rich in carbohydrate, Vitamin A, B and C. Moreover the breadfruit tree is adapted to all types of soil and humid/warm region which makes it an easy crop for cultivation in Mauritius. Traditionally, breadfruit is used in many meal preparations in Mauritius using different cooking techniques such as stewing, boiling, steaming and frying. Fried breadfruit chips are well appreciated snack food in Mauritius and may provide an interesting substitute for potato chips. However consumption of fried foods is linked with high risk of non-communicable diseases and is being discouraged by local authorities. In this context, this preliminary study has been initiated to evaluate oven baking as an alternative method to deep fat frying to make breadfruit chips.

Aim

To develop breadfruit chips through oven baking and deep fat frying.

Objectives:

  •  
  • To characterise deep fat frying of breadfruit chips in terms of moisture loss, fat uptake and mass loss
  • To characterise oven baking of breadfruit chips in terms of moisture loss, fat uptake and mass loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project 3:

Micropropagation studies on breadfruit (On-going final year dissertation by student M Ramphul – co-supervised by Dr J Govinden-Soulange and I Boodhram)

This study investigates the factors that affect or promote in vitro rooting and acclimatization of breadfruit.  Breadfruit shoot explants of length ranging between 0.5 – 2.5 cm were aseptically inoculated into 4 types of in vitro rooting media with different levels of IBA (including a control – no IBA) and two levels of activated charcoal .Five different acclimatization media were tested with rooted regenerated plantlets. Data on number of roots, length of roots, number of leaves and shoot length were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA).  Explants of length less than 0.5 cm resulted in poor rooting (10 %) in culture whereas, maximum (75%) rooting occurred for explants with length between 0.7 - 2.5 cm.  Root number and root length were significantly (p<0.05) influenced by the in vitro rooting media, IBA concentration and activated charcoal.  WPM and half MS medium were considered as the best starting medium for inducing roots in vitro compared to MS (0% rooting) and half MS-Macronutrients (22.2%).  Activated charcoal also significantly increased in vitro rooting percentage. Plantlets were successfully acclimatized in perlite only and perlite:soil (1:1).

 

 

Comments (1)

Nawsheen Hosenally said

at 6:11 pm on Jan 13, 2012

This page is dedicated to UoM for sharing the work that they have been doing in the breadfruit sector.

To start, go though the following steps:

1. Click EDIT on the top left corner,
2. Write what you want to share about your organisation/work it is doing/opportunities/challenges etc.
3. Save your work

By sharing your work and ideas, other stakeholders would be able to discuss, share their opinions, and may add something that we may not have thought before. At the same time, these discussions will make the workshop to be held in some weeks more effective.

You may have a look at this video to understand more about a wiki and the benefits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY

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