DEVELOPMENT OF A SPICES-BASED SEASONING CUBE INCORPORATED WITH MORINGA LEAVES POWDER (Moringa oleifera) AND A MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE ALTERNATIVE

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to examine the possibility of the formulation of a novel seasoning cube based on locally available spices and herbs (black pepper, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, chili, coriander, cumin, fennel, and curry leaves) , Moringa leaves powder, and natural alternatives (mushroom, tomato, carrot, and garlic powders) for monosodium glutamate and additional functional ingredients such as sodium chloride, corn flour, vegetable fat (Margarine), and xanthan gum were also used. Five formulations of seasoning cubes were prepared by changing the percentages of Moringa leaves powder (3%,6%,9%,12%, and 15% w/w) and a mixture of spices and herbs (22%,19%,16%,13%, and 10% w/w) and the control sample was formulated without incorporating Moringa leaves powder. All the formulations were subjected to proximate analysis (moisture, ash, fat, protein, fiber, and carbohydrate), physicochemical analysis (color, pH value, dispersibility, and weight), microbial analysis (yeast and mold count and aerobic plate count), and sensory evaluation. The shelf-life of the product was studied during 90 days of the storage period by evaluating the changes in weight, moisture content, pH value, and microbial qualities. Moreover, all the formulations exhibited acceptable limits on microbial quality parameters throughout the storage period. According to the sensory evaluation, the sample which was formulated by incorporating 9% Moringa leaves powder, 13% spices and herbs mixture, 25% monosodium glutamate alternative, 10% sodium chloride, 25% vegetable fat, 14% corn flour, and 1% xanthan gum was found to be the best treatment (p < 0.05) with the highest overall acceptability of 4.77+0.43. According to the proximate analysis, the aforementioned spices-based seasoning cube sample contained 13.13+-0.62% moisture, 14.34+-0.77% ash, 2.61+-0.22% crude fat, 9.63+-0.35% crude protein, 3.86+0.09oA crude fiber, and 56.43+-1.15% carbohydrate.