Development of Nutri Mix Fortified with Dehydrated Murunga Leaves and Pumpkin Powder

Abstract

Nutri–mix is an instant food type that can be a good supplement of essential vitamins and minerals that contribute to recommended daily intake. Murunga leaves and pumpkins are commonly found in almost all areas in Sri Lanka, and they can be used as good replacements for traditional ingredients in nutri–mix, without altering their nutritional content. As these crops are underutilized in the Sri Lankan context, this study was carried out in order to introduce a new path to get the maximum use. As treatment, four recipes were prepared changing the percentage of dehydrated Murunga leaves powder (t1 =2% , t2 = 3% , t3= 4% , t4= 5% ) and dehydrated pumpkin powder (t1 =18% , t2 = 17% , t3= 16% , t4= 15% ). Then a constant percentage of brown rice (60%) and mung bean (20%) was added to develop the nutri-mix. Sensory evaluation of four samples was conducted using thirty untrained panelists using a five point Hedonic scale. Result shows that the treatments were significantly different (p< 0.05); Treatment 2 (3% murunga powder and 17% pumpkin powder) got the highest median scores for all sensory attributes, while treatment 4 (5% murunga powder and 15% pumpkin powder) showed the lowest median score. Therefore, treatment 2 was selected as the best ingredient combination for nutri-mix as it showed significantly higher sensory attributes among others.