Acceptability test of Adansonia Digitata L.

fruit (Baobab)

Augusta Tomás1; Leandro Oliveira2

1School of Health Sciences and Technologies of the Universidade Lusófona
2Research Center for Biosciences & Health Technologies (CBIOS)

INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVES

Múcua (Figure 1) is the fruit of the To test the acceptability of múcua

baobab tree (Adansonia Digitata L.) among adults residing in Portugal and
and it is originally from Africa. It has their purchase intention.
a high content of ascorbic acid and
dietary fibers, as well as antioxidant RESULTS
properties (1).
Fifty-three tasters participated in this
study with a mean age of 23.5 (SD 10.1)
METHODS
years, mostly female (80.4%), Portuguese
(73.1%), students (73.1%), and with a
This is a cross-sectional study that monthly income below 1000€ (54.5%).
took place between November and The tasters considered the overall liking
December 2022. The múcua was (50.0%), color (71.2%), shape (53.8%), taste
purchased in Angola and brought to (40.4%), aroma (48.5%), and texture
Portugal. The sensory analysis was (44.2%) of múcua as very/ extremely
conducted in the experimental pleasant. However, 38.5% of the tasters
kitchen of the Universidade Lusófona found the múcua not very sweet, and
(Lisbon). After tasting the fruit, 50% found it very acidic (Graph 1).
participants completed a Approximately 30% of the tasters were
questionnaire for their socio- very/ extremely willing to consume this
economic characterization and to test fruit regularly and pay up to 3 €/kg
its acceptability, evaluating the fruit (62.9%).
attributes.
75%

50%

25%

0%

Figure 1 - Múcua.
Source: Own. Graph 1 - Evaluation of sensory attributes of
múcua.

CONCLUSION

The múcua had a good acceptance by the tasters, with color, shape, and overall liking
being the attributes with the highest scores in the acceptability test. Furthermore,
participants were willing to consume it regularly if it was available at an economically
accessible price.

R e f e r e n c e s : ( 1 ) M u t h a i , K . U . , K a r o r i , M . S . , M u c h u g i , A . , I n d i e k a , A . S . , D e m b e l e , C . , M n g 'o m b a , S . , & J a m n a d a s s , R . ( 2 0 1 7 ) . N u t r i t i o n a l v a r i a t i o n i n b a o b a b ( A d a n s o n i a
digitata L.) fruit pulp and seeds based on Africa geographical regions. Food science & nutrition, 5(6), 1116–1129. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.502