ABSTRACT

“Okpa” is a well cherished food, especially among the inhabitants of the eastern part of

Nigeria. The proximate analysis, amino acid profiles and sensory Evaluation of the “Okpa” prepared with fluted pumpkin (Telfairia Occidentales), bitter leaf (vernonia amygdalina) and scent leaves (Occimum gratissimum) were carried out. The Okpa was prepared by adequately mixing the flour with palm oil, uziza, pepper, salt, water and addition of the above mentioned vegetables. The result showed that there were significant differences (P<0.05) in the samples crude protein contents. Sample C (Okpa + bitter leaf) had the highest crude protein content with the value of 15.10% compared to sample B (Okpa + fluted pumpkin) with the value of 13.37% and sample A(Okpa + scent leaf)  with the value of 12.38%. The results of the study also showed that sample A had the least amount of crude fat. Sample C had the highest ash content with value of 7.91% while sample A had the least ash content with value of 4.44%. Sample A had the highest carbohydrate contents with value of 56.12% followed by sample B with the value of 50.09% while the sample prepared with bitter leaf had the least carbohydrate contents with the value of 47.73%. The result of the study showed that sample B  was significantly (P<0.05) higher in the insoluble fiber contents followed by sample A  and sample C had the least insoluble fiber contents, the values of the insoluble fiber contents of the samples were 5.24, 5.00 and 4.01g/100g, respectively. The result showed that sample A had the highest total dietary fiber contents with value of 8.62g followed by sample B with values of 8.25g while sample C had the least total dietary fiber contents. On the amino acid profiles, sample C was significantly higher in leucine, lysine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, valine, histidine and threonine with the values of 9.48, 5.21, 4.11, 4.81, 1.26, 4.41, 2.95 and 3.11 g/100g, respectively. Generally, this result showed that sample C was richer in amino acids than samples A and B. The result showed that there were significant differences in the textures of the three samples with values of 6.45, 6.05 and 5.40 for samples A, B and C, respectively. Therefore, addition of vegetables, especially bitter leaf could serve as a boost to the nutritional value of “Okpa”.