Abstract

Detarium microcarpum is a forest plant widely used in West Africa. However, it is little known and used for food. This study aims to assess the beneficial effect of incorporating the pulp of the fruit of D. microcarpum on the quality of the traditional malt-based drinks. Thus, the objective was to produce traditional drinks based on composite flour of D. microcarpum pulp and malt, then to characterize these drinks on biochemical, microbiological and sensory levels. Traditional drinks formulated with the incorporation of D. microcarpum pulp at 7, 10 and 13% are of good quality in relation to biochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics. For odor, acidity, color and aftertaste, statistical analysis shows significant differences between the controlled drinks produced with malt only and those from the formulations with the incorporation of the pulp of D. microcarpum at 10 and 7%. S90, S93, M90, and M93 obtained the best scores among unfermented drinks and MF93, SF93, MF90, and MF90 were those which were more appreciated taste wise among fermented drinks. These results showed that incorporation of 7 and 10% of the pulp of D. microcarpum in traditional malt-based drinks would be an asset to reduce acidity and improve the quality of traditional malt-based drinks.

Key words: Detarium microcarpum, traditional drink, wild fruit processing, Dolo, Tchakpalo.