Comparative Study on the Nutritional Composition of Two FHIA Tetraploids FHIA-21 (Tetraploid French Plantain) and FHIA-03 (Tetraploid Cooking Banana) in Ghana

摘要

This study was conducted to compare the nutritional composition of the pulps of the green stages of fruits of two FHIA hybrids (FHIA-21 and FHIA-03) in Ghana. Fresh fruits were harvested from the plantain orchard of the Crops Research Institute in Kumasi, Ghana. The standard Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) methods were used to determine the moisture, crude protein , ash, crude fibre, potassium, iron, calcium, carbohydrate, sodium and crude fat. Pulp colour was measured with a Chromatometer (Minolta). The data was subjected to student t-test analysis. The results showed that the nutritional composition of the hybrids were similar to the local landrace. The hybrids however had higher fat content (1.94%) for FHIA-21 and (1.66%) for FHIA-03 compared to triploid plantains. The hybrids were slightly soft due to the high moisture content . There was a significant difference (p>0.05) in the potassium content between FHIA-03 and FHIA-21 (1060 mg/100 g dry weight for FHIA-21 and 1725 mg/100 g dry weight for FHIA-03) compared to reported values. This could be due to the soil and agronomic practices. The pulp colours of the hybrids were orange for FHIA-21 and white to creamy for FHIA-03 showing the physiological maturity of the fruits. The bright orange pulp colour of FHIA-21 was indicative of the presence of provitamins and carotenoids. The high potassium level in the hybrid may be an advantage over the local for use as a therapy. The tetraploid hybrids (FHIA-21 and FHIA-03) could be described as high energy yielding carbohydrates.