Glycemic index of Banku prepared from three varieties of Millet and their acceptability

Abstract

Millet is mostly cultivated in the Northern part of Ghana specifically in Karaga District due to the weather and the conducive land conditions. Value addition for locally cultivated grains such as millet could promote food product development, boost the economy and create jobs for eateries. Different varieties of millets (pennisetum glaucum, panicum miliaceum and Eleusine coracana) were used to prepare dough, fermented and cooked into banku. Four research questions and one hypothesis guided the study. An experimental design was used to manipulate variables presented. Descriptive statistics, trapezoid rule and One-way ANOVA were used to analyze data collected. Banku prepared from Proso millet had higher dry matter content, while pearl millet banku had more moisture content. Proso millet banku had more carbohydrate than finger and pearl millet banku. The Glycemic Indices were low in the following order (finger millet banku = 16.51; pearl millet banku = 38.18 and proso millet bank = 22.82). Finger millet banku and Proso millet banku showed medium Glycemic Loads (12.89 and 18.52 respectively) with pearl millet banku having a high Glycemic Load (30.75). The sensory panel accepted the banku products in the following order (pearl millet banku >finger millet banku>proso millet banku). However, there was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) in the blood glucose level before and after consuming the formulations.