Effect of preservative methods on proximate composition of marketed tomatoes (Solanum lycoperiscum Linn.) varieties in Minna

Abstract

Tomatoes are one of the important vegetable fruits consumed throughout the world. Lack of storage facilities to reduce postharvest loss remains a greater problem. Drying is still a method to remove the moisture from this vegetable fruit. The reasons for drying are to reduce the effect of microorganisms and to increase shelf life without affecting the nutritional composition of the fruit. This study was designed to find a suitable method of drying that enhances the maximum retention of the nutritional contents. Two tomato variety fruits (Cherry and Plum) were sourced from Minna main market in Niger state Nigeria; the two varieties were Cherry divided into three. Fresh (FT1 and FT2), which are the controls for each of the two tomato varieties respectively; and the remaining two were Sun dried and Air dried (SDT1 & ADT1 for cherry and SDT2 & ADT2 for plum). All three samples were analyzed for nutritional composition using the standard protocols. The result pooled for analyses revealed that moisture contents, protein and fat showed no significant difference in the two varieties in both fresh and air-dry samples. The results for protein (28.17 %) and moisture (26.12 %) for the air-dry samples for cherry and 28.10 % and 22.07 % protein contents for plum are suitable due to their low moisture contents. The values obtained are germane to the preservation of these fruits and the conservation of nutrients.