Yoghurt is a widely consumed fermented dairy product recognized for its nutritional benefits. Improving the sensory attributes and nutritional properties of yoghurts can be done by the addition of fruits. Banana is also a highly nutritious fruit and a rich source of phenolic compounds, resistant starch, fiber, and protein, and also contains natural sugars. Owing to these benefits, the incorporation of banana in yoghurt would enhance its nutritional benefits and sensory attributes. This study focuses on evaluating the effects of spray-dried banana powder concentration (control (0%), 20%, 25% and 30%) and fermentation time (4 and 6 hours) on selected vitamin content and sensory attributes of the yoghurts. Vitamin C and ?-carotene, total flavonoid, phenolic content, and proximate composition of the yoghurt were evaluated using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and sensory evaluation was also conducted using a 9-point hedonic scale. The incorporation of banana powder and varied fermentation time increased the vitamin C, total phenolic, and ?-carotene content at 20% for 4 hours, 30% for 6 hours, and 25% for 4 hours, respectively. Samples A2 and D1 were not significantly different for total flavonoids. The sensory attributes of the yoghurt were most preferred at 30% spray-dried banana powder concentration fermented for 6 hours. However, the control showed the lowest vitamin C and ?-carotene content and also the lowest sensory scores, most expected to be due to no addition of fruits. This study proposes that yoghurts incorporated at 20-30% and fermented for 6 hours improve yoghurt?s nutritional value as well as sensory attributes.
Adepoju et al. (Thu,) studied this question.