The effect of different processing methods on Condensed Tannins and bitterness of Cleome Gyandra l. (Cat's Whiskers)

Abstract

The present study has been undertaken to analyze the effect of various processing methods on the condesed tannins and bitterness of Cleome gynandra. The vegetable was divided into five portions thus: fresh(F), oven dried(O), air dried(A), freeze dried(F) and steamed(S) where the fresh sample of the vegetable served as the control. These portions were replicatedinto triplicates which later gave us a total number of samples (n)=9 for each treatment. All the samples were analyzed for condesed tannins using the standard method of Acid Butanol Assay. Data were analyzed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Kruskal-Walis test, unlike steaming, all the processing methods investigated increased the condensed tannins, as well as bitterness of Cleome gynandra. Using the Kruskal-Wallis test, air dried samples and steamed samples were significantly different in condessed tannins (Tukey's multiple comparison test, p<0.0, n=9). However, there was no significant difference in the amount of condesed tannins between the fresh and the air dried samples (Tukey's multiple comparison test, p>0.01, n=9). Oven dried samples and freeze dried samples were significantly different from each other in levels of bitterness (Dunn's multiple comparison test, p>0.01, n=9) whereas air dried samples and fresh samples were not significantly different from each other in levels of bitterness (Dunn's multiple comparison test, p>0.01, n=9). I identified two treatments, Steaming and Air drying with less bitterness (condensed tannins) that can be used in homes for less bitterness as well as limited loss of nutritional and medicinal properties of Cleome gynandra.