PRODUCTION OF HERBAL TEA FROM MORINGA LEAVES (MORINGA OLEIFERA L.) WITH LEMON FLAVOUR (CITRUS LIMON) POWDER

ABSTRACT

The optimization and drying of Moringa  leaves is the key challenges of so many household especially if high nutritive value is needed which required the good preservation methods. And the tea made from Camellia sinensis can be presented as black, yellow, white and oblong tea. However, each has its unique flavor and property determined by the degree and type of processing employed (Toyb et al., 2016). Hence, this research will utilized the lemon peels which considered as waste and the Moringa leaves to optimized the original Moringa leaves tea selling in the market and determine the sensory analysis of the tea produced. This study aimed at producing herbal teas from dried Moringa leaves and lemon peels powder and determining the sensory properties of the herbal tea produced Moringa leaves tea can be enhancing with different flavor formulation. Lemon formulation has antioxidant activities hence it was recommended that people should take regular intake of this formulation provided that Moringa leaves tea remains their tea of interest.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction          -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           1

1.1  Research Problem -           -           -                       -           -           -           -           -           2

1.2  Justifications         -           -                       -           -           -           -           -           -           3

1.3  Aim and Objectives          -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           3

1.4 Scope and Limitations      -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           3

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Literature Review -           -           -           -           -           -           -           ---                    4

2.1 Moringa Oleifera L.          -           -                       -           -           -           -           -           4

2.1.1 Taxonomical Classification        -           -           -           -           -           -           -           5

2.1.2 Morphology of Moringa oleifera L.       -           -           -           -           -           -           5

2.2 Botanical and Geographical Distribution -           -           -           -           -           -           5

2.3 Ethnomedicinal/Traditional Properties      -           -           -           -           -           -           6

2.4 Pharmacological Uses       -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           7

2.4.1 Antimicrobial and Antifungal Activity -           -           -           -           -           -           7

2.4.2 Anti-Inflammatory Activity       -           -           -           -           -           -           -           8

2.4.3 Oxidative Stress                         -           -           -           -           -           -           -           9

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 Materials and Methods     -           -                       -           -           -           -           -           10

3.1 Sample Procurement         -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           10

3.2 Sample Preparation           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           10

3.2.1 Production of Moringa Leaves Powder             -           -           -           -           -           10

3.2.2 Production of Lemon Peel Powder        -           -           -           -           -           -           10

3.3 Formulation of Moringa Leaves and Lemon Peel Herbal Tea      -           -           -           11

3.4 Sensory Analysis   -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           11

3.6 Experimental Design         -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           11

3.7 Statistical Analysis            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           11

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0  Results and Discussion      -           -           -           -           -           -           --                      12

4.1 Results       -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           12

4.2 Discussion             -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           13

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1  Conclusion and Recommendations           -           -           -           -           -           -           15

5.2              Conclusion      -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           15

5.3              Recommendations      -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           16

References       -           -           -           -           -           -                       -           -           -           17

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Tea is ranked as one of the important world foods and is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world next to water (Schmidt et al., 2005). It is a traditional beverage originally from China prepared by brewing processed leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis and overtime, it has become the oldest, most popular, non-alcoholic caffeine containing beverage in the world (Kumar and Shruthi, 2014). Tea made from Camellia sinensis can be presented as black, yellow, white and oblong tea. However, each has its unique flavor and property determined by the degree and type of processing employed (Toyb et al., 2016). Tea has been found to protect against neurological alterations that are induced by toxins present in the environment (Cho et al., 2008) and occasional consumption of tea can also protect against mutations in humans resulting from ultra-violet radiation (Malhomme et al., 2010).

Tea also contains theanine and catechins whose antioxidant properties exhibit neuro-protective and free radical scavenging abilities respectively (Kakuda, 2002; Xu et al., 2010). The utilization of plants and plant extracts in tea production has led to tea variants generally called “herbal tea” which are not produced from Camellia sinensis leaves. Herbal tea is produced from brewing mixtures of herbs, fruits, seeds, leaves or plant extracts of various plants (Ravikumar, 2014). Moringa  is a sole genus in the flowering plant family, Moringa ceae. All its parts are not only edible but also healthy, nutritious and with numerous potential uses (Fahey, 2006). It has medicinal and antioxidant properties and contains a variety of proteins, vitamins and minerals (Kamal, 2008).

Research has also shown that Moringa  is extremely low in fats and contains no harmful cholesterol (Bernett et al., 2003). In addition, Moringa  oleifera leaves also have various biological activities including the prevention of anemia in both children and adults (Singh et al., 2018). The lemon tree is an important medicinal plant of the family Rutaceae. Lemon is a citrus and citrus fruits have been reported to contain bioactive compounds. The most important being ascorbic acid which prevents and cures scurvy. It also contains polyphenols (Aronson, 2001). Research has also shown that lemons have rich antioxidant properties which play vital role in the production of collagen needed in the relief of asthmatic symptoms. They also have high potentials to protect against cancer and stroke (Ware, 2019). The lemon peels which are usually considered a waste material actually contain higher amounts of phytochemicals and volatile essential oils with higher antioxidant and antimicrobial properties (Shahnah et al., 2007). They also contain many polymethoxylated flavones which are rarely present in other plants (Ahmad et al., 2006).

The sensory perception of a product by a consumer is very crucial for it to thrive in the market irrespective of its health or nutritional benefits (George et al., 2021). Phenolic compounds such as tannins are well known for eliciting negative consumer response because of their astringency and bitter taste. This probably explains the poor sensory appeal of herbal teas produced solely from Moringa  leaves or lemon peel despite their nutritional and therapeutic benefits. The perceived astringency and bitter taste therefore, could be one major factor limiting their use as sole components of herbal tea during herbal tea production (Ware, 2019).

1.1  RESEARCH PROBLEM

The optimization and drying of Moringa  leaves is the key challenges of so many household especially if high nutritive value is needed which required the good preservation methods. And the tea made from Camellia sinensis can be presented as black, yellow, white and oblong tea. However, each has its unique flavor and property determined by the degree and type of processing employed (Toyb et al., 2016). Hence, this research will utilized the lemon peels which considered as waste and the Moringa leaves to optimized the original Moringa leaves tea selling in the market and determine the sensory analysis of the tea produced.

1.2  JUSTIFICATIONS

Moringa  leaves and Lemon peel’s tea has several health benefits that justify its production as it contains high amounts of minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, improved digestion, conatin high amount of citric acid due to the lemon and also boost the immunity. However, no research has utilized this scope although there are so many papers on Moringa  and the lemon separately. Therefore, this research is designed to produce Moringa /Lemon peel’s tea and perform sensory evaluation afterwards.

1.3  AIM AND OBJECTIVES

This study aimed at producing herbal teas from dried Moringa leaves and lemon peels powder and determining the sensory properties of the herbal tea produced.

And the objectives includes;

        i.            To produce herbal teas from dried Moringa  leaves and lemon peels powder and;

      ii.            To determining the sensory properties of the herbal tea produced in the study.

1.4  SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

This research work focus only on the Moringa leaves as well as Lemon peel’s, and anything apart from this is not among the study scope. And the limitation include the availability of raw materials and also the market of the herbal tea may not be as large as that for traditional tea already in the market.