Nutritional, Antioxidant and Quality Acceptability of Smoothies Supplemented with Moringa oleifera Leaves

This study evaluated the impact of the level of supplementation (1.5, 3.0 and 4.5%) of Moringa oleifera leaves on the nutritional (proximate, mineral and vitamin contents) and antioxidant capacities of smoothies made from a blend of pineapple, banana and apple. The results obtained were moisture (49.24-78.62%), total ash (1.01-9.71), crude fiber (5.14-9.39%), crude fat (0.72-1.86%), crude protein (5.47-19.37%) and carbohydrate (3.65-16.99%). Calcium (12.03-15.53) and potassium (17.22-25.38) were the predominant mineral elements when compared to magnesium (1.51-3.05) mg/L. The vitamin contents were in the ranges 2.5-10.8 and 0.15-0.93 mg/L for vitamins C and E, respectively. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were in the ranges 4.68-6.18 mg/mL and 0.01-0.14 mg/mL, respectively. The radical scavenging abilities (DPPH) of the samples ranged between 16.05% and 88.77%, while the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) ranged between 0.38 and 7.36 mg/mL. The brix values showed high sugar contents (15-18%) while the pH results showed that the sample was almost neutral at a range between 6.3 and 6.5. The overall quality (sensory) acceptability of the different quality parameters evaluated indicated that the control sample was more preferred. While supplementation with M. oleifera leaves significantly affected the sensory parameters, its addition nevertheless offers a potential avenue to obtain additional nutrients besides its improved antioxidative properties.