Browsing by Author "Osae, R."
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Item Accumulation of heavy metals and human health risk assessment of vegetable consumption from a farm within the Korle lagoon catchment(Heliyon, 2023) Osae, R.; Nukpezah, D.; Darko, D.A.; Koranteng, S.S.; Mensah, A.The Korle lagoon is known to have high concentration of heavy metals. The use of land for agriculture and water for irrigation within the Korle Lagoon’s catchment constitutes a potential health risk. Due to this, the study assessed the concentration of heavy metals in some vegetables (Amaranth, Spinach, Eggplant, Lettuce, Cauliflower, and Onion) and their corresponding soil from a farm within the Korle Lagoon’s catchment. The estimated daily intake (EDI), hazard quotient (HQ), and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) was used to assess their health risks. Among the vegetables tested, heavy metals in lettuce exceeded their recommended guideline level. Additionally, the concentrations of Fe (265.94–3599.60 mg/kg) and Zn (76.77–294.70 mg/kg) in all vegetables were above the recommended guideline level. Also, Zn (227.30–534.57 mg/kg) and Pb (101.53–407.58 mg/kg), in soil were above the recommended guideline level for soil. The results also showed not only the severity of heavy metal pollution of soil in the study area, but also risks that were deemed carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic to both adults and children as a result of consumption of vegetables from the study area. The hazard index for adults (0.46–41.156) and children (3.880–384.122), were high for all vegetables tested and are associated with cancer risk due to high Cr and Pb levels. The risk assessment showed that children may suffer more carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic health risk than adults. The study concluded that vegetables grown within the Korle lagoon’s catchment is not suitable for consumption due to the associated adverse health effect.Item Application of non-thermal pretreatment techniques on agricultural products prior to drying: a review(Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2020-01-23) Essilfie, G.; Osae, R.; Alolga, R.N.; Akaba, S.; Song, X.; Owusu-Ansah, P.; Zhou, C.BACKGROUND: Most agricultural crops contain high moisture content (80–95% wet basis (wb)) which makes them very susceptible to microbial damage leading to shorter shelf-life and high postharvest losses. The high perishability of these agricultural products requires preservation techniques to prolong their shelf-lives. Drying remains an important component of processing in this regard. Therefore, any pretreatment methods for drying agricultural product that decreases the moisture content and minimizes drying time by conserving the quality of the crop product is of prime significance. This article is a comprehensive review of recent developments of non-thermal pretreatment (NTP) methods. A summary of their significance, emerging and innovative methods of this technology together with its applications and limitations are discussed. This article further examines the environmental impact of NTP techniques. RESULTS: NTP techniques, such as high pressure, ultrasound, pulsed electric field and osmotic dehydration methods are essential operations for pre-dehydration of agricultural products prior to drying. These techniques can avoid the deleterious effects of heat on nutritive value, colour and flavour of agricultural products compared to thermal pretreatments. They also enhance the inactivation of the enzymes, improve energy efficiency and mass transfer, reduce processing time, preserve bioactive compounds, improve drying kinetics and drying rate, minimize enzymatic browning, and enhance product quality. CONCLUSION: These findings will provide a better understanding of different NTP methods and also make available more information for selecting pretreatment techniques for drying of agricultural products.Item Assessment of Locally Produced Waxing Materials on the Shelf Life and Fruit Quality of Two Tomato Varieties (Solanum Lycopersicum)(University of Ghana, 2014-07) Osae, R.; Essilfie, G.; Anim, O. J.The study was conducted in three phases. Phase one was to assess the postharvest management practices along the tomato value chain in the Fanteakwa District of Ghana. Semi–structured questionnaires were administered randomly to fifty tomato farmers and fifty tomato traders. The value chain of tomatoes as observed in this study, started from pre-harvesting stages and ended with the consumer. Harvesting was done manually and fruits were harvested by majority of farmers when fully ripened. Fruits were harvested mainly in the mornings by most farmers. The farmers also had some knowledge on the postharvest implication of the time of harvest of the produce. All farmers and traders in the study area practiced sorting of fruits into sizes before packaging. The packaging materials that were used included wooden boxes, plastic and cane baskets. Postharvest losses that were incurred started on the farm during harvesting to the point of consumption. The causes of losses were the lack of ready market, lack of storage technology, lack of storage facility, lack of transport for harvested produce, pests and diseases and lack of processing plants. The losses along the tomato postharvest value chain were due to mechanical, rotting (biological) and physiological factors. In all, postharvest management practices involved in the tomato value chain in the district were not adequate to prevent losses. Phase two was to assess the effect of different waxing materials on the quality attributes of tomato fruits. A 2 x 8 factorial experiment layout in complete randomized design with 16 treatment combinations and 3 replication was adopted. The materials that were used for experiment were two (2) varieties of tomatoes (Pectomech and Power Rano) and seven (7) waxing material (shea butter, cassava starch, beeswax, and a combination of shea butter + cassava starch, shea butter + beeswax, cassava starch + beeswax, shea butter + cassava starch + beeswax) and a control. Results from the experiment indicated that all waxing treatments delayed the on set of weight loss, firmness, pH, total soluble solids, and total titrable acidity. The results also suggested that edible wax coatings delayed the ripening process and colour change of tomato fruits during the storage period and extended the shelf life. However Beewax treatment and its combinations performed better than the other treatments. It was therefore recommended that locally produced wax such as Beewax, shea butter, cassava starch treatments and their combinations could be a good technology for preserving the quality and extending the shelf life of fresh tomato fruit as well as maintaining the physical and chemical properties. Phase three was to assess consumer acceptability of tomato fruits that have been treated with different waxing materials. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data on consumer acceptability of tomato fruits treated with different waxing materials at storage. Sensory analysis was carried out with ten panelists selected from the College of Agriculture and Consumer Science, university of Ghana. The panelists were asked to assess the visual quality of tomatoes that had been treated with different waxing materials. Coded samples per treatment were assessed by each of 10 panelists. A five-point Hedonic scale was used to score sensory attributes of waxed tomatoes. The locally produced waxes (Beewax, Shea butter, Cassava Starch and their combinations) improved some organoleptic and chemical properties such as attractiveness, firmness, smell and overall acceptability of waxed fruits. Generally, for stored tomatoes, consumers preferred waxed fruits to unwaxed fruits. Farmers and traders should be encouraged to use locally available wax materials to coat their produce to maintain the quality.Item Drying of ginger slices—Evaluation of quality attributes, energy consumption, and kinetics study(Journal of Food Process Engineering, 2020-01) Essilfie, G.; Osae, R.; Alolga, R.N.; Bonah, E.; Ma, H.; Zhou, C.Ginger slices were dried with Freeze drier (FD), relative humidity convective drier (RHCD), infrared drier (IR), and microwave drier (MD) at a temperature of 60 C. The influence of the drying techniques on total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activities, ABTS (2,2-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline- 6-sulfonic acid), DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), FRAP (Ferric reducing antioxidant power capacity), and CUPRAC (Cupric ion reducing capacity), rehydration ratio (RR), color, enzyme inactivation (polyphenol oxidase, PPO and peroxidase, POD), energy consumption rate (ECR), microstructure, volatile compounds (aroma profile), and drying kinetics were assessed. The results showed that FD-ginger slices retained the highest antioxidant properties, ABTS (51.88 mgTE/g db), CUPRAC (95.51 mgTE/g db), DPPH (132.95 mgTE/g db), and FRAP (95.32 mgTE/g db), TPC (118.70 mg GAE/g db) and TFC (98.94 mg CE/g db), preserved microstructure and higher volatile compounds compared RHCD, IR, and MD. The RHCD-ginger slices attained the highest RR (3.6), lowest ECR (7.88 kWh/kg), lowest PPO (17%), and POD (22%) residual activity with preserved color properties than FD, IR, and MD. RHCD also enhanced the drying kinetics and lessened the drying time compared to FD, IR, and MD. Page model best fitted the experimental results of drying kinetics (R2 > 0.99). Practical application One of the world's most consumed and used spices is ginger and due to its high moisture content, drying is normally used for its preservation. Therefore, to attain dried ginger of better quality, an effective, safe, efficient drier that can preserve product quality and reduce processing time, as well as energy consumption, is required for commercial purposes as a poor selection can have an adverse effect on the product quality. The outcome of the current investigation will offer a better understanding of various drying techniques and also provide more information on the selection of the best drying technique for drying ginger.Item Heavy metal mobility, bioavailability, and potential toxicity in sediments of the Korle lagoon in Ghana(Taylor & Francis Group, 2022) Osae, R.; Nukpezah, D.; Darko, D.A.; Mensah, A.This study aimed to identify the mobility, bioavailability, and potential toxicity of heavy metals (HM) in sediments of the Korle lagoon using metal partition. Sediments were analysed using the BCR (Bureau of reference) method. As (60%), Pb (50%), Zn (57%) and Fe (40%) were found in high concentration in the ion exchangeable fraction. The oxidisable fraction was dominated by Cu (51%), Cd (95%), Cr (61%), Ni (63%), As (35%), Fe (21%), Hg (30%), Pb (19%) and Zn (11%). The reducible fraction was dominated by Zn (29%), Pb (24%) and Hg (19%). The residual fraction was dominated by Hg (49%) and Fe (34%). PCA was used to identify pH and organic matter as the most important factors controlling the mobility and bioavailability of HM in the sediments. Arsenic, Pb, Zn and Fe were found to have the highest mobility. Chromium, Cu and Ni have medium mobility. Hg has low mobility. Most of the HM show potential bioavailability and toxicity.Item Sonication, osmosonication and vacuum-assisted osmosonication pretreatment of Ghanaian garlic slices: Effect on physicochemical properties and quality characteristics(Food Chemistry, 2021) Alolga, R.N.; Osae, R.; Essilfie, E.; Saalia, F.K.; Akaba, S.; Chikari, F.This work aimed to assess the impact of sonication (US), osmosonication (US + OD) and vacuum-assisted osmosonication (V + US + OD) pretreatments on the quality of Ghanaian garlic prior to relative humidity convective drying. Hence, slices of fresh garlic subjected to US, US + OD and V + US + OD pretreatments were dried and the following assessed: antioxidant activities, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme inactivation, rehydration ratio (RR), drying kinetics, energy consumption, chromatographic fingerprinting, allicin content and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. V + US + OD pretreatment gave the best results for antioxidant activities, TPC, TFC, RR and PPO enzyme inactivation. It also recorded the shortest drying time and was more energy efficient. Finally V + US + OD pretreatment maintained the chemical integrity of the finished product and recorded the highest content of allicin. A general trend was however observed for all quality parameters assessed for the various pretreatment methods as: V + US + OD > US + OD > US.Item Sonication, osmosonication and vacuum-assisted osmosonication pretreatment of Ghanaian garlic slices: Effect on physicochemical properties and quality characteristics(Food Chemistry, 2021) Alolga, R.N.; Osae, R.; Essilfie, G.; Saalia, F.K.; Akaba, S.; Chikari, C.This work aimed to assess the impact of sonication (US), osmosonication (US + OD) and vacuum-assisted osmosonication (V + US + OD) pretreatments on the quality of Ghanaian garlic prior to relative humidity convective drying. Hence, slices of fresh garlic subjected to US, US + OD and V + US + OD pretreatments were dried and the following assessed: antioxidant activities, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme inactivation, rehydration ratio (RR), drying kinetics, energy consumption, chromatographic fingerprinting, allicin content and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. V + US + OD pretreatment gave the best results for antioxidant activities, TPC, TFC, RR and PPO enzyme inactivation. It also recorded the shortest drying time and was more energy efficient. Finally V + US + OD pretreatment maintained the chemical integrity of the finished product and recorded the highest content of allicin. A general trend was however observed for all quality parameters assessed for the various pretreatment methods as: V + US + OD > US + OD > US.Item Subcritical Ethanol-Water and ionic liquid extraction systems coupled with multi-frequency ultrasound in the extraction and purification of polysaccharides(Taylor & Francis Group, 2021) Yarley, O.P.N.; Azumah, B.K.; Telfer, F.A.; Zhou, C.; Xiaojie, Y.; Agyapong, H.; Oklu, M.M.; Arhin, R.E.; Osae, R.This study obtained crude sorghum leaf sheath polysaccharide (39.99% wet matter (wm)) by subcritical ethanol-water (40% v/v) extraction (180°C, 40 min). The subcritical extraction solution was transformed into an ionic liquid aqueous two-phase extraction system and subsequently coupled with ultrasound extraction to obtain partially purified polysaccharides (PPP). PPP yields of 20.89%, 27.38%, and 36.49% (wm) were obtained using 60 kHz, 20/60 kHz, and 20/40/60 kHz ultrasound frequencies, respectively. Polysaccharide functional groups such as hydroxyl, aldehyde, and amide were detected using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). Amylose contents of 15%, 18%, and 25% were obtained for PPP under single, dual, and tri-frequencies, respectively. Amylose contents were associated with aggregation of PPP particles sizes after heat exposure (70°C for 1 h 50 min). Triple-frequency extracted polysaccharides with the highest uronic acid (1.51%) and polyphenolic (27.79%) contents had an IC50 of 1.37 mg/mL in an in-vitro hydroxyl scavenging activity assay. Three interesting co-extracted bioactive phytochemicals; 2-amino-5[(2-carboxy) vinyl]-Imidazole, N-[4-bromo-n butyl]-2-Piperidinone, and 3-Trifluoroacetyl Pentadecane were detected. The PPP extract showed antioxidant activity and contained phytochemicals with potential antimicrobial and antiviral activities, and thus may be useful in food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications.Item Variation in bioactive phytochemicals and sensory attributes of osmosonic convective dried ginger from four African countries(Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2020-03-10) Essilfie, G.; Osae, R.; Alolga, R.N.; Osei-Adjei, G.; Baduweh, C.A.; Yarley, O.P.N.; Zhou, C.BACKGROUND: The rhizome of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is one of the most patronized spices worldwide and plays an important role in folklore medicine. In this study, we aimed to determine the quality of ginger samples from representative West African (Ghana, Nigeria) and East African (Uganda, Kenya) countries. By that, we also implicitly sought to determine the probable influence of location of cultivation (and the intrinsic growth conditions) on the quality of the samples. The ginger samples were pretreated by osmosonication prior to relative humidity convective drying and analyzed for differences in their metabolomes, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activities, sensory characteristics and volatile compounds composition (via electronic-nose determination). RESULTS: The outcome of our study showed marked source-dependent differences in the metabolomes of the samples as captured by a metabolomics approach. Based on the findings of the metabolomics study, 6-gingerol content was quantified and found to be higher in the samples of West African origin. Also, the samples from the two West African countries contained higher levels of bioactive phytochemicals as evinced by the results of TPC, TFC, e-nose analysis, and antioxidant activities. They also gave better sensory attributes. CONCLUSION: In summary, for all parameters assessed, and on a country-by-country basis, the general quality trend observed was: Ghana > Nigeria > Uganda > Kenya. All results taken together, our findings at least in part, point to the influence of geographical regions of cultivation on the quality of the ginger rhizomes.