THE EFFECT OF MORINGA LEAF FLOUR ADDING ON THE PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND SENSORY PROPERTIES OF MOCAF-SORGUM TORTILLA

Abstract

Tortillas are a snack that uses corn as the basic ingredient, but corn has a low protein content. One way to increase the nutritional content of processed corn products is to add food ingredients that have a higher nutritional content, such as Moringa leaf flour. This study investigates the effects of incorporating moringa leaf flour into tortilla recipes, aiming to enhance the nutritional value of tortillas made primarily from corn, which is low in protein. The research utilized a Randomized Complete Block Design with six treatments of moringa leaf flour: P0 (0%), P1 (2%), P2 (4%), P3 (6%), P4 (8%), and P5 (10%). The observed parameters included physical quality (texture and color), chemical content (moisture, ash, and protein), and sensory attributes through hedonic tests (aroma, taste, color, and crispness) and scoring (aroma). Data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at a 5% significance level with Co-Stat software, followed by Honest Significant Difference (HSD) tests for significant differences. Results indicated that adding moringa leaf flour significantly affected moisture content, ash content, protein content, texture, color, and sensory attributes. The optimal formulation was found to be the 8% moringa leaf flour addition, resulting in 2.67% moisture, 3.03% ash, 6.18% protein, L* 36.09, and °Hue 162.84 (green), with a texture of 2.36 N. This formulation was favored by panelists for aroma, taste, color, and texture, though it had a slightly off aroma.