Glycemic Responses, Glycemic Index, and Glycemic Load Values of Some Street Foods Prepared from Plantain (Musa spp., AAB Genome) in Côte d'Ivoire.

The glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of four culinary preferences including five local street dishes prepared from three varieties of plantain at different maturity stages was determined. The GI was obtained following ISO/FDI 26642:2010 protocol, and the GL was calculated from test foods' GI, considering the amount of available carbohydrate in the traditional portion size. GI values were 44 for Klaclo (with Ameletiha variety at all black stage), 39 for Aloco (with Agnrin variety at full yellow stage), 39 for Aloco (with Agnrin variety at full yellow with black spots stage); 45 for Chips (with Ameletiha variety at green stage) and 89 for Banane braisée (with Afoto variety at light green stage). GI values were inversely correlated with the total sugar and carbohydrate in foods (p < 0.01), and no relationship existed between the GI values and the amount of protein (p = 0.89). Except for Chips (GL = 12), the GLs of the others foods were high (GL > 20). Contrary to Banane braisée, the consumption of Klaclo, Aloco, and Chips may promote the control of postprandial glucose response. Data provides the first GI published values of plantain-based foods commonly consumed in the urban area of Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire).

Effect of cooking on the total antioxidant capacity and phenolic profile of some whole-meal African cereals.

BACKGROUND: At present, sorghum, fonio and millet are not placed as important commodities in the North American and European food basket, but their importance as ingredients in multigrain and gluten-free cereal products is highlighted. Therefore in this study the phenolic profile (evaluated by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry), total phenolic content (assessed by Folin-Ciocalteu assay) and total antioxidant capacity were measured in three African whole grains, i.e. sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp. bicolor), fonio (Digitaria exilis) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.), before and after a cooking procedure. RESULTS: After the cooking process, soluble phenolic acids increased significantly in sorghum, whereas bound ones and anthocyanins decreased significantly. In millet the cooking process significantly enhanced soluble phenolic acids without affecting those bound, whereas in fonio a slight but significant decrease in almost all soluble phenolic acids was observed along with a significant increase in bound ones. Finally, the cooking process negatively affected both total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity. CONCLUSION: This is one of the few reports dealing with the antioxidant compounds of these three African whole grains in which the effect of cooking was also evaluated. The data suggested that, to improve their antioxidant properties, specific cultivars should be selected and the cooking procedures carefully considered.

Effect of resistant starch on the cooking quality of yam (Dioscorea spp.) and cassava (Manihot esculenta) based paste products.

Total starch (TS) and resistant starch (RS) contents in pasty edible product of mealy and hard cooking tubers of three yam varieties and four cassava varieties were determined to evaluate their contribution in their cooking quality. TS and RS contents appeared as the main components in determining yam cooking quality. Mealy cooking yam varieties were characterized by a significant higher TS content (75.2 ± 7.7 g/100 g d.m.) and lower RS content (13.8 ± 3.4 g/100 g d.m.) than hard cooking yam varieties, which, in contrast, contained less TS (61.7 ± 12.1 g/100 g d.m.) and particularly high RS (21.8 ± 9.9 g/100 g d.m.), possibly as a consequence of the prevalence of large granules (35-40 µm) observed by light microscope. Conversely, TS and RS contents appeared not determinant on the cooking quality of cassava. Moreover, higher amylose contents were associated with substantially elevated percentages of RS in yam and cassava, and high RS content in samples modulates their pasting properties by reducing the peak viscosity and the breakdown and requiring higher temperature and longer time to the peak.

Effects of different maturity stages on antioxidant content of Ivorian Gnagnan (Solanum indicum L.) berries.

Gnagnan (Solanum indicum L.) is a spontaneous plant widely distributed in Ivory Coast. During ripening stages, Solanum indicum L. presents different colours (green, yellow and red) and is reported to contain several albeit poorly characterized antioxidant compounds. This paper describes in detail the antioxidant profile (ascorbic acid, carotenoids and polyphenols), antioxidant capacity (FRAP test and Folin-Ciocalteau assay) and the colour changes of Gnagnan berries at different ripening levels. Ascorbic acid content was similar in green and yellow berries, but significantly lower in red ones. Red berries showed a higher content of carotenoids compared to green and yellow ones. Regarding polyphenols, several phenolic acids and flavonoids were found in all berries. The content of caffeoylquinic acids, caffeic acid, flavonol glycosides and naringenin was higher in red berries, while the content of p-coumaric acid and feruloylquinic acids was similar among the three colours. The FRAP assay increased with the ripening process, whereas total polyphenols were similar among berries. Significant differences were found for the colorimetric indexes among products of different degrees of ripening. The present results show the important role of the ripening stage in increasing the antioxidant content of Gnagnan berries.