ABSTRACT
The banana (Musa spp., Family Musaceae) ranks as the fourth largest food crop and is one of the tropical fruits that is traded the most globally.Food safety especially of fruits is important for a healthy and sustainable food system. Though accelerated ripening of fruits is common in Nigeria, its effect on nutritional quality of fruits remains under explored.This study was aimed at determining the effects of calcium carbide and wood ash on banana as artificial ripening agents and comparing its physio chemical properties as well as the nutritional values or qualities with that of naturally ripened banana.Moisture, ash, protein, fat, and fiber content of the samples' proximate composition were examined using the Association of Official Analytical Chemist technique and elemental analysis conducted with Association of Official Analytical Chemist standard procedure .By using the subtraction approach, the amount of carbohydrates was determined.The control samples (natural ripening) had the highest carbohydrate,total ash and fibre content, (37.50%,2.90% and 0.46 respectively). The calcium carbide ripened samples had the lowest protein, ash, fibre and fat content of 3.90%, 1.415%, 0.18% and 0.30% respectively.There was a significant difference in percent value of protein for all samples at p>0.05.No significant difference was observed in the total ash, moisture content, fat and carbohydrate of the induced plantain fruits and the control where the Ash content ranged between 1.415-2.90% which was highest in the control and least in the calcium carbide samples. The fibre content ranged between 0.18-0.46% which was highest in the control and least in the calcium carbide samples.For the statistical analysis,descriptive statistics, mean and standard deviation and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted using Excel XP software. Significance was established at p < 0.05.In conclusion,the fruits under study had lower levels of protein, fat, calcium, sodium, vitamin C, and sugar after being treated with calcium carbide and wood ash. However, it also boosted the fruits' moisture, ash, and fiber content.
