Evaluation of the Physicochemical, Nutritional, Textural, and Sensory Characteristics of Extrudates from Sorghum and Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato Flour Blends

This study is aimed at producing extrudates using sorghum and orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) flour in varying ratios (90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, 30:70, and 20:80), with extrudates made from 100% sorghum serving as the control. The puffed snacks' physicochemical, nutritional, textural, and sensory qualities were assessed, and the obtained data were analyzed through ANOVA. Our findings revealed notable variations in the physicochemical properties of the puffed snacks, showing a decrease in moisture, fat, protein, and crude fibre content as the percentage of OFSP flour increased. Furthermore, increased substitution of sorghum flour with OFSP in the extrudates led to a corresponding rise in vitamin A, B1, and C levels from 0.24, 0.15 and 0.21 mg/100 g in the control to 1.30, 0.19, and 1.82 mg/100 g in the extrudates made from 20% sorghum. More so, samples with increased OFSP content were preferred regarding springiness, chewiness, gumminess, and cohesiveness, whereas those with elevated percentages of sorghum received higher likeness for adhesiveness and stringiness. Extruded samples containing 80% and 90% sorghum levels received the highest overall acceptance ratings of 7.15 and 7.18, respectively. The research results are essential for the food industry to produce nutritious extrudates with appealing sensory characteristics and textures.