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Okafor, B. N.

Articles by Okafor,

Original ResearchSep 2025
Evaluation of antioxidant, dietary fibre and microbial properties of spiced tangelo snack. Nigerian Journal of Post-Harvest Research, 3(3), 71-78.
Oduntan, A. O., Oyedeji, E. O., Okafor, B. N., & Mustapha, B. O. (2025).

The increase in consumers' awareness of healthy snacks has called for the production of spiced snacks from citrus, such as tangelo. This study aimed to fortify tangelo with spices and evaluate the phytochemicals, dietary fibre contents, and microbial properties. In this study, fresh peeled fruits were sliced and divided into five parts, namely: tangelo fruits spiced with African cardamom (Aframomum danielli), Ginger (Zingiber officinalis), nutmeg (Monodora myristica), African pepper (Xylopia aethiopica), and an unspiced sample served as a control. The samples were dehydrated at 60 °C for 13 hours, cooled, and packed into polyethene bags before analysis. Thereafter, phytochemical, antioxidant constituents, total reducing sugar, dietary fibre, and microbial load of samples were determined for ten weeks. Results showed that dehydration generally reduced the moisture content of the spiced tangelo samples (13.78-20.67%), compared with the control (23.71%). Phenolic content (15.61-18.72 mg/g, DPPH (72.29-82.84%), tannin content (36.24–56.63 mg/g), insoluble fibre (5.68–6.27%), soluble fibre (7.56–8.32%), and total dietary fibre (13.46–14.59%) were elevated. The antimicrobial properties of the spices improved the shelf stability of the products, with Xylopia aethiopica-spiced tangelo showing the lowest bacterial load (11.00 ×10⁷ CFU/mL). The inclusion of spices improved the antioxidant, shelf-life, and dietary fibre contents of the dehydrated tangelo. In conclusion, the spices, particularly Xylopia aethiopica, are essential antimicrobial agents in enhancing the storability and nutritional properties of tangelo snacks. Findings from this study offer a prospect for producing healthy, dried fruit snacks.