Abstract:
The existence of bioactive chemicals in plants is essential for the
development of their therapeutic qualities. In order to establish the scientific
foundation for their use, it is necessary to test medicinal plants on a regular
basis going forward.
The study was experimental research that explored the health and
aesthetic benefits of Alchornea cordifolia (ogyama) in preparing cassava fufu.
Specifically, the study proximately analyzed the cassava plantain fufu, cassava
fufu, and cassava ogyama fufu determined the glycaemic index and glycaemic
load of the three fufu varieties and conducted a sensory evaluation of the
acceptance of the foods. Questionnaires were used to gather data for the
sensory evaluation. One-way analysis of variance and independent-sample ttest
were employed in the analysis of the data with a statistical significance set
at 95%. The study showed that all three varieties of fufu have high glycaemic
indices and are high glycaemic load foods. Cassava fufu has the highest
glycaemic index of 78.3, cassava plantain fufu also has a glycaemic index of
73.9, while cassava ogyama fufu has the least glycaemic index of 54.3.
Cassava plantain fufu was the most preferred in terms of colour, taste, aroma,
mouth feel, after taste, and overall acceptability whereas cassava fufu was the
least acceptable. The study recommends that the consumption of cassava
ogyama fufu can be recommended more often to diabetics who wish to
continue enjoying fufu while they manage their health.
