Abstract The effects of water and methanol extraction and oven drying and freeze drying on okoho mucilage techno-functional properties was investigated. This study characterized the extracts using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDX), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transformed infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), and Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS) to analyse the properties of the mucilage. This was to ascertain the mucilage’s suitability as a natural clarifier for clarification of sugar cane syrup. The physical attribute (the flow behaviours) was also evaluated. FTIR evaluation of the mucilage revealed significant peaks at 3277.39 cm-1, signifying the presence of hydroxyl (OH) functional groups. The different functional groups showed the amorphous nature of the extracts and revealed had the extracts had a polysaccharide backbone. The application of X-ray Diffraction (XRD) exposed both amorphous and crystalline structures and the mineral elements followed a trend of Ca N P Si Mg Cl Na AiS Fe for all the mucilage. The semicrystalline image on SEM micrograph showed highly loose and porous granule molecules with irregular shape, size, surface cracking as well as surface roughness attributable to the presence of proteins correlating with the major presence of carbon, nitrogen and minute quantities of sulphur in the EDX spectrum. GCMS showed predominance of 51 compounds in the extracts at various concentration. Drying temperatures and solvent extraction had no significant impact on mucilage techno-functional properties but there were shifts in band patterns and wavenumber from lower to higher or higher to lower. This means that drying temperature and solvent extraction impacted the chemical interaction, such that increase/decrease in the absorbance pattern resulted in greater bonding and stronger molecular interaction between the functional groups in the samples.
Anuonye et al. (Sun,) studied this question.