Nutritional Analysis and Consumer Acceptability of Tea Formulations with Morinda citrifolia leaves, Tetrapleura tetraptera and Zingiber officinale

Abstract

The growing demand for functional beverages underscores the necessity of leveraging underutilised plant resources with potential health benefits. Despite their nutritional and medicinal attributes, Morinda citrifolia leaves, Tetrapleura tetraptera and Zingiber officinale remain underexploited in product development, particularly in Ghana. This study formulated and evaluated herbal tea blends incorporating these plants in varying proportions: BT (50% Morinda citrifolia leaves, 25% Tetrapleura tetraptera, 25% Zingiber officinale ginger), CT (50% Zingiber officinale, 25% Morinda citrifolia leaves, 25% Tetrapleura tetraptera ), and DT (50% Tetrapleura tetraptera, 25%Zingiber officinale, 25% Morinda citrifolia leaves). Proximate composition was determined using AOAC methods, and fifty (50) untrained panellists above 16 years of age were randomly recruited from the Takoradi Technical University campus for the acceptance tests. The results revealed that proximate analysis for all parameters were significantly different at p < 0.05 with BT having moisture (11.13 %), protein (14.02 %), and ash (6.85 %) content. Fat content demonstrated significant variation, with CT having the highest fat percentage (6.18 %). The fibre content was consistently high (14 %-17 %) across all samples. Carbohydrates were the major component, with the highest concentration in DT (56.17 %). Sensory evaluation using a 7-point hedonic scale revealed that BT and CT received superior ratings for colour (CT =5.82, BT = 5.20), aroma (CT = 5.64, BT = 5.64), taste (CT = 5.88, BT = 5.70), flavour (CT = 5.88, BT = 5.64), and aftertaste (CT = 5.92, BT = 5.88) which indicates they were moderatedly liked. Overall acceptability was highest for CT (44%) being the most preferred, followed by BT (36%) and DT (20%) as the least preferred. These findings illustrate that the blends, particularly CT and BT, demonstrated favourable nutritional profiles and consumer acceptability, thereby highlighting their potential as functional herbal teas and promoting the utilisation of underexploited plant resources.