ABSTRACT

Kunu is non-alcoholic beverage commonly consumed in the Northern Nigeria during the dry season. Five research objectives guided the study. The study used an experimental research design to produced four samples of kunu drink (T3 = 70% Guinean corn + 30% tigernut, T5 = 50% tigernut + 50% guinea corn, T7 = 30% guinea corn + 70% tigernut and G1 = 100% guinea corn) and then carried out chemical evaluation on the samples using conventional laboratory methods. The result showed that the kunu sample (T7) had significantly higher moisture content (P<0.05) of 84.03%, high protein content of 7.83%, and significantly (P<0.05) low carbohydrate content of 0.27%. The result on mineral content showed that Ca, Mg, Fe and K significantly (P<0.05) increased with increase in the tigernut content of the kunu. The result showed that the kunu sample (T7) recorded significantly (P<0.05) higher values for vitamin A (2.42µg/100g), vitamin B1 (3.08µg/100g), vitamin B2 (1.09µg/100g), vitamin C (28.62µg/100g) and significantly (P<0.05) low vitamin B3 content of (0.46µg/100g) respectively. For anti-nutrient, phytate, saponins and oxalate content of the kunu-tigernut blend significantly (P<0.05) reduced with increase in tigernut. On the sensory evaluation, addition of tigernut to the blend significantly improved the flavor, taste and mouth feel of the kunu blend. The study concluded that blending guinea corn and tigernut in the kunu production significantly improved its nutrient content as well as reduce its anti-nutrient levels. The beverage can therefore be included as one of refreshing drinks for consumption by children and adults to add to their daily nutrient intake. The study therefore recommended that guinea corn – tigernut kunu blend should be introduced to the Nigerian markets to add to improvement in nutritional content of the product.