Abena Boakye

Abena Boakye
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology | KNUST · Department of Food Science and Technology

PhD (Food Science and Technology), MSc (Food Science and Technology), BSc (Botany)
Food Systems Res. Network for Africa Fellow: Exploring underutilised crops for resilient food systems in Northern Ghana

About

51
Publications
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Introduction
Abena Achiaa Boakye holds a PhD in Food Science and Technology. She is a faculty member at the Department of Food Science and Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Her research interest is in value addition and utilisation of indigenous underutilised crops with emphasis on fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers to achieve nutrition and food security amidst climate change influences. Dr. Boakye also has expertise in Sensory Science and Food Product Development as well as Food Analysis/ Compositional studies that exploit the health benefits of crops.

Publications

Publications (51)
Article
Full-text available
Food fortification is an effective strategy to combat vitamin A deficiency. Gari, a cassava-based West African food product, is an interesting product to fortify with vitamin A, but the low stability of vitamin A poses a challenge. We showed that toasted wheat bran can stabilise vitamin A as retinyl palmitate (RP) during storage of RP-fortified gar...
Article
Full-text available
Cowpea is an important staple in Ghana and many tropical and subtropicalregions. Improving food security and agricultural sustainability for these crops requires the development of climate-resilient varieties.This study aimed to classify five newly developed climate-resilient cowpea varieties— Bawutawuta , SAMPEA 14 , SARI-tuya , IT13K-1070–2 , and...
Article
Full-text available
Tomato paste is the most consumed tomato product on the Ghanaian market, the majority of which are imported into the country. This food product is easily adulterated, and thus, routine quality checks are necessary. Therefore, the current study is aimed at assessing the quality of eight tomato paste products on the Ghanaian market and checking for t...
Article
Full-text available
Background Yoghurt is one of the most popularly consumed fermented products which provides several nutritional benefits. Yoghurt products often include flavour and colour additives however, growing awareness of the risks associated with synthetic food additives has necessitated the need to explore more natural colour and flavour as food additives....
Article
Peanut butter and yoghurt are targeted for adulteration intended at consumer deception. This study aimed to fingerprint and detect peanut butter and yoghurt adulteration with cassava flour and starch using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) in a quasi-experimental approach. Ingredients for laboratory sample preparation were obtained from the Kumasi...
Article
Full-text available
Edible coating technology has been proven to be an efficient and effective method of postharvest preservation. Especially in developing countries, edible coatings and other postharvest technologies are often limited by their high cost. The study aimed to assess the effect of edible coating materials prepared from inexpensive and locally available m...
Article
Full-text available
Over 70% of plantain produced in Ghana is traded along the fresh market which is a hotspot for postharvest loss. This study sought to assess the economic impact of plantain ripening among traders in three satellite markets of Accra. Using the interview technique, primary data was obtained from 320 respondents within 3 satellite markets. Ripening wa...
Book
Full-text available
Neri, seeds of the Cucurbitaceae family, are highly prized in West African Cuisine for their nutrient density and unique delectable flavour. In particular, Neri-growing communities in Ghana, depend on the crop as a stop-gap against famine during the lean season of staples. Despite these benefits, they still remain underutilized, with limited resear...
Article
Full-text available
This study explored the feasibility of developing a ready-to-prepare cocoyam pottage, 'mpotompoto' to meet consumers' need for convenience in traditional dishes. Cocoyam chunks (1.2cm x 1.2cm x 1.2cm) were pre-gelatinized to obtain the instant base ingredient, and an accompanying spice-mix recipe was developed. Standard methods were used to determi...
Article
Full-text available
Background Zingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger) rhizome is a global spice with marked pharmacological activities and industrial application. The demand for the powdered spice soared in the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The present study sought to assess powdered ginger products on the Ghanaian market for some quality parameters and compare t...
Technical Report
Full-text available
A participatory processing diagnosis on fried sweetpotato was conducted with expert fryers to better understand desirable and non-desirable quality characteristics from their perspective. The study encompassed 20 expert fryers across 8 communities in Nigeria (Kano and Kwara States) and Ghana (Bawku, Upper East Region). In both countries, the desira...
Article
Full-text available
This study assessed the extent to which cold store operators and table-top meat and fish sellers in Kumasi, employed safe meat and fish handling practices. The meat and fish safety knowledge and attitudes of food vendors and household consumers were also assessed. Data was collected from 155 respondents comprising 53 cold store operators, 42 table-...
Article
Full-text available
Prepared foods are increasing in popularity in West Africa alongside rapid urbanisation. Growing demand for fried products calls for targeted breeding efforts to meet consumer needs, but little is known regarding consumer preferences. This research identified the sensory attributes of fried sweetpotato preferred by different consumer groups using a...
Article
Full-text available
Fried sweetpotato quality is important for variety adoption in West Africa. To inform breeding efforts, the study developed a product profile for sweetpotato chunk fries using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods. Root characteristics, processing attributes, in‐mouth attributes and appearance of fried product were critical to final product qu...
Article
Full-text available
Snails, a delicacy in most tropical communities, are highly perishable and seasonal. Employed preservative methods are highly temperature dependent, adversely affecting their nutritional value and sensory properties. This study was aimed at determining the effect of size and drying time on the rehydration and sensory properties of freeze-dried snai...
Chapter
Full-text available
Xanthosoma sagittifolium (Cocoyam), is food for over 400 million people worldwide and is the aroid of most economic value in West Africa. However, it is marginalized in both national and regional research interventions resulting in paucity of information on its processing characteristics, limited existing food application, and a lack of updated dis...
Article
Full-text available
This study investigated the water‐starch characteristics of two cocoyam varieties, red (mankanikokoo) and white (mankanifufuo), alongside their relevant physicochemical and pasting properties. Differences between the varieties in their starch content, as well as amylose/amylopectin ratios were identified. Low‐Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (LF‐NM...
Article
Full-text available
The critical role of indigenous crops in the socioeconomic growth of developing nations has necessitated calls for accelerated exploitation of staples. Cocoyam, Xanthosoma sagittifolium, is food for over 400 million people worldwide and is the most consumed aroid in West Africa. However, it remains an underexploited food resource. This study review...
Article
Full-text available
To effectively promote the industrial utilization of cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) roots for enhanced food sustainability and security, there is a need to study their molecular, mechanical and physicochemical properties in detail. The physicochemical and textural characteristics of the red and white varieties of cocoyam roots were thus analyse...
Article
Full-text available
To effectively promote the industrial utilization of cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) roots for enhanced food sustainability and security, there is a need to study their molecular, mechanical and physicochemical properties in detail. The physicochemical and textural characteristics of the red and white varieties of cocoyam roots were thus analyse...
Chapter
Cocoyams are important root and tuber staples in West African communities, but limited information exists on their physicochemical and processing characteristics. In this study low field proton relaxation analysis was used to characterize the water distribution and gelatinization behaviour during cooking of red and white cocoyam roots, as well as w...
Article
Full-text available
The antioxidant activity, total phenols content and phytochemical constituents of edible portions of four underutilised tropical fruits; Irvingia gabonensis (African mango), Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit), Annona muricata (soursop) and Annona squamosa (sweetsop) were determined. Extracts of fruit samples were screened for selected phytochemicals u...
Article
Full-text available
The antioxidant activity, total phenols content and phytochemical constituents of edible portions of four underutilised tropical fruits; Irvingia gabonensis (African mango), Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit), Annona muricata (soursop) and Annona squamosa (sweetsop) were determined. Extracts of fruit samples were screened for selected phytochemicals u...
Article
Full-text available
The current surge in the prevalence of chronic diseases has necessitated the call for the increased consumption of fruits to curtail the phenomenon. The dietary fibre fractions, ascorbic acid and proximate composition of edible portions of four underutilised fruits namely; Annona muricata (soursop), Irvingia gabonensis (African mango), Artocarpus a...
Thesis
Full-text available
The surge in chronic diseases has necessitated the global call for increased consumption of diverse fruits and vegetables resulting in the need to study the potential health beneficial constituents of the underutilised. This research was aimed at assessing the dietary fibre fractions, proximate composition, antioxidant activity and phytochemical co...

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