Nutritional, Sensory and Microbial analysis of organically fortified zobo tea (hibiscus sabdariffa) powder

Contributing to the health benefits associated with the consumption of organically fortified Zobo Tea (Hibiscus sabdariffa) powder as beverage, this research have sought to contribute to knowledge via the production process of spiced Zobo Tea (Hibiscus sabdariffa) powder and its proximate content. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Comparison of means was carried out by Duncan’s multiple range test Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 17.0) and the means ± SD were calculated from triplicate determinations. The result of the sensory revealed that the entire three sample have no significant differences (p<0.05) that is, they are similar in their characteristics in mean score and standard deviation in terms of all the sensory characteristics (taste, appearance, aroma, texture, overall acceptability). Meanwhile, the proximate content (ash, crude fiber, carbohydrate, protein, and moisture) of sample ZT3 (80g ZT+ 20g SP) was significantly different from ZT1 (100g ZT). Also The Microbial count (Bacillus spp, Proteus spp, Klebsiella spp and Ecoli) were conducted and the result obtained indicated that these samples may be good for beverage production. We thus recommend the consumption of organically fortified zobo tea (Hibiscus sabdariffa) powder which is an indigenous beverage product for a wide range of consumer owing to the numerous health benefits as reviewed.