Nutritional Composition of Bread Made from Composite Flour of Fermented Cowpea Seed Coat

Abstract

Background: Cowpea is an important pulse and starchy legume crop in sub-Saharan Africa, with further use happening in regions of Asia and the Americas. In this study, Cowpea seed coat flour (CSCF) was used to produce bread. This study deals with the efficacy of fermentation in improving the nutritive quality of cowpea seed coats and its utilization in bread production. Objectives: The present study determine the nutritional composition of wheat bread made from composite flour of the fermented seed coat. Methods: The composite flour used was prepared by fermenting cowpea seed coat at 0, 48 and 72 hrs respectively. Flour produced from this samples were evaluated for proximate composition. Fermented and Unfermented cowpea seed coat flour was constituted at 5% and 10% of white flour weight, to achive 7 treatments. The bread produced from the composite and wheat flour were evaluated for functional properties attributes and was analyzed statistically. The sensory evaluation of bread fortified with unfermented and fermented cowpea testa flour revealed that incorporation of cowpea testa flour at varying levels influenced key sensory attributes, particularly aftertaste, aroma, mouthfeel, taste and texture (P<0.05), while appearance remained largely unaffected (P = 0.154). Results: Incorporating cowpea testa flour, both unfermented and fermented into bread formulations significantly increased both crude fibre and dietary fibre content compared to bread made solely with white flour (P<0.05). Among the samples, bread containing 5% of 48hr fermented cowpea seedcoat flour and 10% of 72hrs fermented cowpea seed coat flour showed the highest crude fibre values, significantly exceeding those of the unfermented counterparts. The sensory evaluation of bread fortification revealed that incorporation of cowpea testa flour at varying levels influenced key sensory attributes (P<0.05), while appearance remained largely unaffected (P = 0.154). Conclusion: The incorporation of cowpea seed coat flour into bread significantly enhanced its dietary fiber content, while fermenting the seed coat improved the acceptability of bread fortified with cowpea seed coat flour.