Effect of the Addition of Okra Seed (Abelmoschus esculentus) Flour on the Antioxidant Properties of Plantain Musa paradisiaca Flour

Aim: This study aims at determining the antioxidant properties of plantain flour fortified with okra seed flour (full fat and defatted).
Methodology: Plantain Musa paradisiaca and fibrous okra Abelmoschus esculentus that cannot be cut with kitchen knife were used for this work. The plantains were made into flours while the seeds were removed from the okra pod, sundried, milled and sieved. The Okra seed flour (full fat and defatted) was used to fortify the plantain flour separately in the following ratio 90:10, 80:20 and 70:30. The order of antioxidant activity was evaluated by measurement of total phenolic content, vitamin C content, ABTS scavenging ability and the ferric reducing antioxidant property (FRAP) of the fortified plantain flour.
Results: The process of defatting caused a significant reduction in the total phenolic content (2.85%), vitamin C content (2.63%), ABTS scavenging ability (17.2%) and the reducing power (13.75%) of the okra seed flour. The antioxidant properties of the okra seed flour were significantly higher(P ≤ 0.05) than that of the plantain flour except the vitamin C where there was no significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) (plantain flour: 6.30mg/100g, defatted okra seed flour: 6.66 mg/100g and full fat okra seed flour: 6.84 mg/100g). The fortification of the plantain flour with the okra seed flour resulted in significant increase (P ≤ 0.05) in the total phenolic content, ABTS scavenging ability and the ferric reducing power of the fortified plantain flour as the percentage of okra seed flour increased.
Conclusion: The addition of okra seed flour to plantain flour should be encouraged because it increased the antioxidant properties of the resultant fortified plantain flour.