INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN APPLIED SCIENCE (IJRIAS)  
ISSN No. 2454-6194 | DOI: 10.51584/IJRIAS |Volume X Issue XI November 2025  
Amino Acid Profile and Sensory Attributes of Flour Blends from  
Bambara Groundnut, African Arrowroot Lily and Soybean for  
Akpekpa Production  
Igbabul, Bibiana Dooshima* Folaju, Thompson and Tersoo-Abiem, Evelyn Mguchivir  
Department of Food Science and Technology, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria  
DOI: https://doi.org/10.51584/IJRIAS.2025.101100077  
Received: 01 December 2025; Accepted: 07 December 2025; Published: 18 December 2025  
ABSTRACT  
This study evaluated the amino acid profile of flour blends produced from Bambara groundnut, African  
arrowroot lily and soybean, as well as the sensory quality of akpekpa prepared from these blends. Akpekpa was  
produced by mixing the flour blends with wet-milled pepper, onions, seasoning and salt, after which 20 ml palm  
oil and 60 ml hot water (70 °C) were added and stirred into a uniform paste. The paste was allowed to stand for  
30 minutes, stirred again then dispensed into stainless cups (400ml capacity) to ¾ full, cooked for one hour and  
allowed to cool. Amino-acid analysis showed that blending improved both essential and non-essential amino-  
acid contents, with glutamic acid (1.34%) being the most abundant and arginine (0.18%) the least. Incorporating  
African arrowroot lily and soybean flours slightly reduced the sensory scores of the products; however, the blend  
containing 90% Bambara groundnut, 5% soybean and 5% African arrowroot lily was the most acceptable overall.  
The findings indicate that adding African arrowroot lily and soybean to Bambara groundnut flour enhances its  
amino-acid profile and can still yield an acceptable akpekpa product.  
Keywords: Akpekpa, Flour blends, Amino-acid, sensory attributes  
INTRODUCTION  
Legumes are important major sources of plant protein and fats in tropical countries. They are good sources of  
essential amino acids and fats. There industrial application depends on the knowledge of nutritional importance  
and functional properties while the acceptability by the consumer depends on its sensory quality. Bambara  
groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) verde], one of these grain legumes, is widely cultivated in west and central  
Africa. A high carbohydrate (65%) and relatively high protein (18%) content as well as sufficient quantities of  
fat (6.5%) make the bambara groundnut rank highly as a complete food. However, lack of adequate processing  
techniques to overcome the hard-to-cook effect has limited its utilization and hence reduced its production  
(Christina, 2009). In addition, insufficient protein of good quality is a serious problem in many developing  
countries because of the prohibitive cost of protein from animal sources. Alternative sources of proteins which  
could alleviate this problem include the proteins from different legumes.  
Akpekpa is a proteineous traditional steamed gel product prepared from bambara groundnut flour. It is a delicacy  
and well cherished food eaten by over five million people including children and adults in North Central Nigeria  
particularly among the Tiv tribe (Igbabul et al., 2013). Bambara groundnut (Voandzeia subterranea) is a seed  
crop of African origin and the third most important grain after groundnut and cowpea (Ojimelikwe and Ayernor,  
1992). It is widely produced in the Northern part of Nigeria and contains all the essential amino acids, but it does  
not meet the recommended amino acid patterns specified by FAO/WHO Expert Consultation (FAO/WHO,  
2013). Despite this fact, it could play an important role in meeting the people’s protein needs in combined meals,  
especially in developing countries. The essential amino acid content of bambara groundnut such as lysine  
6.82g/16gN, methoinine 1.85g/16gN and cysteine 1.24g/16gN is comparable to that of soyabean (6.24g/16gN  
lysine, 1.14g/16gN methionine and 1.80g/16gN cysteine) (Fetuga et al 1975). Lysine, Leucine, Glutamic and  
Aspartic acids were its predominant amino acids (Mune et al., 2011, Yao et al., 2015). Researchers have reported  
bambara groundnut flour in the making of bread in Zambia, produced imitation milk that gave a flavour preferred  
to that of milks from cowpea, pigeon pea and soybean and also for preparing baby foods, animal feeds, snacks,  
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN APPLIED SCIENCE (IJRIAS)  
ISSN No. 2454-6194 | DOI: 10.51584/IJRIAS |Volume X Issue XI November 2025  
relish and medicine and as well made into a traditional steamed gel product known as akpekpa (Atiku et al.,  
2004; Igbabul et al., 2013).  
However, the competing demand on bambara groundnut for human consumption and animal feed and its  
attendant high price has led to the utilization of composite flours from soybeans, cassava, maize, cocoyam, and  
guinea corn for akpekpa preparation (Igbabul et al., 2013). This could affect its protein content thereby resulting  
to variation in its amino-acid composition. African arrowroot lily (Tacca involucrata), which is affordable and  
readily available could be used in making akpekpa owing to its binding property. It is with the view to harness  
these edible and abundant starch and protein sources that this research was aimed at incorporating African  
arrowroot lily (Tacca involucrata) and Soybean flours in akpekpa production to enhance its amino-acid  
composition and sensory attributes.  
MATERIALS AND METHODS  
Source of Materials  
Bambara groundnuts and soybeans were purchased from Modern market, Makurdi. African arrowroot lily tubers  
were harvested from a local farm in Ihugh, Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State. The ingredients  
such as fresh pepper, onions, seasoning, palm oil and salt were purchased from North bank market in Makurdi,  
Benue State. All the chemicals used were of analytical grade.  
Sample Preparation  
Preparation of African Arrowroot Lily (Tacca involucrata) Flour  
The method described by Igbabul et al. (2013) was used with a little modification (i.e. without wet milling of  
samples). African arrowroot lily (Tacca involucrata) tubers were peeled, rinsed, sliced into cubes and soaked in  
a closed container for fermentation to take place within 72 hours. The cubes were later drained and oven dried  
at 60oC for 10 hours. The dried cubes were milled into flour using hammer mill, sieved through a 250µm mesh  
size and then packed in an air tight container.  
Preparation of Bambara Groundnut Flour  
The method of Okafor et al. (2014) was used. Bambara groundnut was manually sorted and winnowed to remove  
stones, debris and defective seeds. Thereafter, soaked for 24 hours to ease removal of the outer coat, oven dried  
the seed for 8 hours at 60oC, milled using an attrition mill and sieved through a sieve 250 µm mesh, then  
packaged in an air tight container prior to use.  
Preparation of Soybean Flour  
The method of Fabiyi (2006) was adopted. Soybeans were soaked (1:5 w/v) for 12 hours, cleaned and washed  
to remove the testas. Thereafter, oven dried for 8 hours at 60oC, milled using an attrition mill and sieved through  
a 250µm mesh, then packed in an air tight container prior to use.  
Table 1: Formulation of bambara groundnut, African arrowroot lily and soy flour blends  
Composition (%)  
Samples  
Bambara groundnut flour  
African arrowroot lily flour  
Soybean flour  
A
B
C
100  
90  
0
0
100  
100  
100  
5
5
80  
10  
10  
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN APPLIED SCIENCE (IJRIAS)  
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D
E
F
70  
60  
50  
40  
15  
20  
25  
30  
15  
20  
25  
30  
100  
100  
100  
100  
G
Preparation of Akpekpa  
Akpekpa was prepared using the method described by Igbabul et al. (2013). The flour blend (Bambara groundnut,  
soybean and African arrowroot lily) sample (200g) was measured into a bowl. Ten grams each of fresh pepper  
and onion was ground and added to the flour. The seasoning (2g) and 1g of salt were also added to give taste.  
Thereafter, 20ml of palm oil and 60ml of hot water (70oC) was added to the mixture and stirred thoroughly to  
mix the ingredients properly. The paste was allowed to stand for 30 minutes to gel properly and was stirred  
again. The paste was dispensed into stainless cups (400ml capacity) to ¾ full. The cup was covered with the lid  
and cooked for one hour. The akpekpa was cooled to ambient temperature (30oC) and stored prior to analysis.  
The flow chart for the production of akpekpa is shown in Figure 1.  
Flour blend  
Ingredients  
Hot water  
Mixing  
Gelling  
Stirring  
Packaging  
Cooking  
Akpekpa  
Figure 1: Flow diagram for preparation of Akpekpa.  
Source: Igbabul et al. (2013)  
Determination of Amino Acid Composition of Akpekpa flour blends  
The determination of the amino acid composition of the flour formulations was done on Waters 616/626 LC  
(HPLC) in four stages i.e. (i) hydrolysis (ii) derivatisation (iii) separation of the derivatised amino acid and (iv)  
data processing, interpretation and calculation of the final results.  
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN APPLIED SCIENCE (IJRIAS)  
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Sample Hydrolysis  
The method described by Kabaha et al. (2011) was used for the hydrolysis of the samples. The sample (0.5g)  
was weighed into sterile furnace hydrolysis tube and 5 Nmol leucine was added to the samples and then dried  
under a vacuum. The tube was again placed in a vial containing 10.05N HCL with a small quantity of phenol,  
thereby hydrolyzing the protein by the HCL vapours under vacuum. The stages of hydrolysis of the samples  
lasted for between 20-23 hours at 1080C. After the hydrolysis, the samples were dissolved in ultra-pure water  
(HPCL) grade, containing ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). The EDTA chelates the metals was present  
in the samples. The hydrolysed samples were stored in HPLC amino acid analyzer bottles for further analytical  
operations.  
Sample Derivatisation  
The hydrolysed samples were derived automatically on the 616/626 HPLC by reacting the five amino acid, under  
basic situations with phenylisothiocyanate (i.e. PITC) amino acid derivatives. The duration was 45 minutes per  
sample as calibrated on the instrument. A set of standard solutions of the amino acids was prepared from Pierce  
Reference standards H (1000umol) into auto-sampler crops and they were also derived. These standards (0.0,  
0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 µmol) were used to generate a calibration file that was used to determine the amino acids  
contents of the samples. After the derivatisation, a methanol solution (1.5N) containing the PTC-amino acids  
were transferred to a narrow bore waters 616/626 HPLC system for separation.  
HPLC Separation and Quantization  
The separation and quantization of the PTC-amino acids were done on a reverse phase, 18 silica column and the  
PTC chromophone were automatically and digitally detected at the wavelength of 254nm. The elution of the  
whole amino acids in the samples took 30 minutes. The buffer system used for separation was 140mm sodium  
acetate pH 5.50 as buffer A and 80% acetonitrile as buffer B. The program was run using a gradient of buffer A  
and buffer B concentration and ending with a 55% buffer B concentrations at the end of the gradient.  
Data interpretation and calculation: The intensity of the chromatographical peak areas were automatically  
and digitally identified and quantified using a Dionex chromeleon data analysis system which is attached to the  
waters 616/626 HPLC system. The calibration curve or file prepared from the average values of the retention  
times (in minutes) and areas (in Au) at the amino acids in 5 standards runs was used. Since a known amount of  
each amino acid in the standard loaded into the HPLC, a response factor (Au/pmol) was calculated by the  
software that was inter-phased with HPLC. This response factor was used to calculate the amount of each of the  
amino acid (in pmol) in the sample and displayed on the system digitally. The amount of each amino acid in the  
sample is finally calculated by the software by dividing the intensity of the peak area of each (corrected for the  
differing molar absorptivities of the various amino acids) by the internal standard. (I.e. pierce) in the  
chromatogram and multiplying this by the total amount of internal standard added to the original sample. After  
the picomole by the intensity of the height of each amino acid ascertained by the software, the data, the digital  
chromatographic software extrapolate back to 5nmoles of the Internal Standard (Norleucine), and displays for  
the total amount that was pipette into the hydrolysis tube at the beginning of the analysis as below:  
Mg/ml (in Extract) = Dilution factor x Peak height intensity  
µg/ml in extract x Sample volume  
Mg/ml (in sample) =  
Weight of sample  
To convert to %, the product of the above equation was divided by 10,000.  
Sensory Evaluation  
A panel of 10 students from Food Science and Technology Department, University of Agriculture Makurdi were  
randomly selected. A 9-point Hedonic scale (1-dislike extremely, 5- neither like nor dislike and 9-like extremely)  
was used to rate the sensory attributes of appearance, texture, taste, aroma and overall acceptability of the  
products (Ihekoronye and Ngoddy, 1985). The 7 samples were 3-digit coded and presented randomly to the  
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panellist with fresh tap water for mouth rinsing in between evaluations.  
Statistical Analysis  
The mean and standard deviation of triplicate samples were determined. The data were subjected to the Analysis  
of Variance as prescribed by Abu et al. (2006), Means were significantly different were separated using the  
Duncan Multiple Range Test. Significance were accepted at p < 0.05.  
RESULTS DISCUSSION  
Results  
The amino acid composition of Bambara groundnut, African arrow lily and Soybean flour blends were presented  
below (Table 2). All essential amino acids increased significantly except methionine and histidine with increased  
levels of bambara groundnut and African arrowroot lily flours. Arginine increased significantly (p<0.05) from  
0.98mg/ml to 4.62mg/ml for samples A, B, C, D, E, F and G respectively. Threonine increased significantly  
(p<0.05) from 0.08mg/ml in sample A to 0.98mg/ml in sample G. Leucine increased from 3.05mg/ml sample A  
to 6.60mg/ml in sample G. isoleucine increased from 0.35mg/ml in sample A to 1.63mg/ml in sample G. Lysine  
increased significantly (p<0.05) from 0.71mg/ml in sample A to 1.53mg/ml in sample G. Methionine content  
increased from 0.66mg/ml in 100% bambara groundnut flour to 0.68mg/ml in 40% bambara groundnut, 30%  
African arrowroot lily and 30% soy flour. Phenylalanine increased from 2.96mg/ml in sample A to 3.28mg/ml  
in G. Valine increased from 2.69mg/ml in sample A to 4.19mg/ml in sample G. Tyrosine content increased from  
0.23mg/ml in sample A to 1.02mg/ml in G. Alanine increased significantly (p<0.05) from 1.35mg/ml in sample  
A to 4.14mg/ml in sample G. However, Histidine decreased significantly (p<0.05) from 1.87mg/ml in sample A  
to 0.46mg/ml in sample G. As well, aspartic acid decreased from 5.01mg/ml in sample A to 4.43mg/ml G while  
asparagine decreased from 0.66mg/ml in sample A to 0.46mg/ml in sample G. Glutamic acid increased  
significantly (p<0.05) from 9.22mg/ml in sample A to 12.44mg/ml in sample G but glutamine decreased from  
2.86mg/ml in sample A to 1.36mg/ml G. Glycine increased from 0.88mg/ml in sample A to 1.73mg/ml in sample  
G, as well as proline from 1.02mg/ml in sample A to 2.01mg/ml in sample G and serine from 0.63mg/ml in  
sample A to 1.66mg/ml in sample G. Tryptophan decreased from 1.02mg/ml in sample A to 0.30mg/ml in sample  
G and cystine increased from 1.02mg/ml in sample A to 1.06 mg/ml in sample G.  
Table 2: Amino Acid Profile of Bambara Groundnut, African Arrowroot Lily and Soybean flour blends  
Sample  
H
I
A
B
C
D
Compositi  
on E  
(%) F  
G
Arginine  
0.18g±0.02  
0.98b±0.02  
0.60g±0.02  
0.35g±0.02  
0.71de±0.54  
0.65d±0.02  
0.42f±0.02  
0.08f±0.02  
0.89f±0.02  
0.58f±0.02  
0.49e±0.02  
0.26f±0.02  
0.63e±0.02  
0.71d±0.02  
0.75c±0.02  
0.15e±0.02  
1.63c±0.15  
1.11c±0.02  
0.89b±0.02  
0.45d±0.02  
1.96b±0.02  
1.38b±0.02  
0.98a±0.02  
0.88c±0.02  
2.05a±0.02  
1.63a±0.02  
1.53b±0.02  
1.04a±0.02  
0.07h±0.02  
0.80f±0.02  
0.12h±0.02  
0.06h±0.02  
0.07f±0.02  
0.09g±0.02  
0.98a±0.02  
1.69a±0.02  
1.03e±0.02  
1.65a±0.02  
2.34a±0.02  
0.66d±0.02  
*Threonine  
*Leucine  
*Isoleucine  
*Lysine  
0.11ef±0.03 0.13e±0.02  
1.05e±0.02  
0.72e±0.02  
0.61e±0.02  
1.25d±0.02  
0.85d±0.02  
0.71de±0.02  
0.73c±0.02  
0.98cd±0.02 1.08c±0.15  
*Methionin  
e
0.47 e  
±0.02  
0.75c±0.02  
0.59e±0.02  
0.34d±0.02  
0.98b±0.02  
0.76d±0.02  
0.49b±0.02  
*Phenylala  
nine  
0.86c±0.02  
0.28h±0.02  
0.33g±0.02  
0.48f±0.02  
0.98b±0.02  
0.24i±0.02  
1.96a±0.02  
*Valine  
0.41c±0.02  
0.42d±0.02  
0.19g±0.02  
0.46d±0.02  
0.24f±0.02  
0.69d±0.02  
0.28e±0.02  
0.85cd±0.02  
0.69a±0.02  
1.32b±0.02  
0.24f±0.02  
0.03e±0.02  
0.69a±0.02  
1.87 a±0.02  
*Histidine  
0.99bcd±0.0  
2
1.14bc±0.0  
2
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Tyrosine  
Alanine  
0.23h±0.02  
0.28h±0.02  
1.02b±0.02  
0.48g±0.02  
0.24f±0.02  
0.23f±0.02  
0.56f±0.02  
0.29e±0.02  
0.34e±0.02  
0.69e±0.02  
0.38d±0.02  
0.49d±0.02  
0.81d±0.02  
0.49c±0.02  
0.63c±0.02  
0.98c±0.02  
0.62b±0.02  
0.62c±0.02  
1.02b±0.02  
0.36d±0.02  
0.65c±0.02  
0.06i±0.02  
0.09g±0.02  
0.12g±0.02  
2.01a±0.02  
1.35a±0.03  
2.01a±0.02  
Aspartic  
acid  
Asparagine  
0.69h±0.02  
1.34h±0.02  
0.36g±0.02  
0.44g±0.02  
0.48f±0.02  
0.51f±0.02  
0.69e±0.02  
0.74e±0.02  
0.81d±0.02  
0.91d±0.02  
0.92c±0.02  
0.98c±0.02  
1.86a±0.02  
1.25b±0.02  
0.09h±0.02  
0.13i±0.02  
1.66b±0.02  
1.92a±0.02  
Glutamic  
acid  
Glutamine  
Glycine  
Proline  
0.86b±0.02  
0.88e±0.02  
1.02e±0.02  
0.63±0.02h  
1.02c±0.02  
0.28g±0.02  
0.59g±0.02  
0.81g±0.02  
0.66g±0.02  
0.45g±0.02  
0.39f±0.02  
0.79f±0.02  
0.98f±0.02  
0.87f±0.02  
0.52f±0.02  
0.58e±0.02  
0.98d±0.02  
1.08d±0.02  
1.11e±0.02  
0.76e±0.02  
0.78c±0.02  
1.07c±0.02  
1.77c±0.02  
1.32c±0.02  
0.98d±0.02  
0.89b±0.02  
1.35b±0.02  
1.98b±0.02  
1.44b±0.02  
1.07b±0.02  
0.96a±0.02  
1.73a±0.02  
2.01a±0.02  
1.66a±0.02  
1.24a±0.02  
0.14h±0.02  
0.06h±0.02  
0.87h±0.15  
0.52i±0.02  
0.42g±0.02  
0.62d±0.02  
0.77c±0.02  
1.69c±0.02  
1.28d±0.02  
1.23a±0.03  
Serine  
*Tryptopha  
ne  
Cystine  
1.02bc±0.02  
0.29g±0.02  
0.38f±0.02  
0.52e±0.02  
0.75d±0.02  
0.98c±0.02  
1.06ab±0.02  
0.08h±0.02  
1.08a±0.02  
Values are means ± SDs of triplicate determinations. Means with the same superscript within the same row are  
not significantly different (p > 0.05).  
A = 100% Bambara groundnut flour  
B = 90% Bambara groundnut flour, 5% African arrowroot lily flour and 5% Soy flour  
C = 80% Bambara groundnut flour, 10% African arrowroot lily flour and 10% Soy flour  
D = 70% Bambara groundnut flour, 15% African arrowroot lily flour and 15% Soy flour  
E = 60% Bambara groundnut flour, 20% African arrowroot lily flour and 20% Soy flour  
F = 50% Bambara groundnut flour, 25% African arrowroot lily flour and 25% Soy flour  
G = 40% Bambara groundnut flour, 30% African arrowroot lily flour and 30% Soy flour  
H = 100% African arrowroot lily flour  
I = 100% Soybean flour  
The mean sensory scores of Akpekpa prepared from the flour blends were presented in Table 3. Addition of  
African arrowroot lily flour and Soy flour decreased the mean scores for all the sensory parameters which  
includes appearance (8.70 to 5.00), taste (8.50 to 4.00), aroma (8.80 to 5.50), texture (8.90 to 4.15) and general  
acceptability (8.95 to 4.40) for samples A to G respectively. There were significant difference (p<0.05) among  
the samples in all the parameters tested.  
Table 3: Mean Sensory Scores of Akpekpa Produced from Bambara  
Groundnut, African Arrowroot  
Lily and Soybean Flour Blends  
Parameter  
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
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Appearance  
Taste  
8.70a  
8.50a  
8.80a  
8.90a  
8.00a  
7.30b  
7.30b  
8.00a  
8.05a  
7.70b  
6.85b  
7.05b  
7.85b  
7.60b  
6.80c  
5.50c  
6.65c  
6.15c  
6.40c  
6.65c  
5.05c  
6.45c  
5.05d  
5.35d  
5.05d  
4.45d  
5.75d  
4.30e  
4.80e  
5.00d  
4.00d  
5.50d  
4.15e  
4.40e  
Aroma  
Texture  
Acceptability 8.95a  
Means with the same superscript within a row were not significantly different (p > 0.05).  
Samples were evaluated in 9-point Hedonic scale (1 = disliked extremely and 9 = liked extremely)  
A = 100% Bambara groundnut flour  
B = 90% Bambara groundnut flour, 5% African arrowroot lily flour and 5% Soy flour  
C = 80% Bambara groundnut flour, 10% African arrowroot lily flour and 10% Soy flour  
D = 70% Bambara groundnut flour, 15% African arrowroot lily flour and 15% Soy flour  
E = 60% Bambara groundnut flour, 20% African arrowroot lily flour and 20% Soy flour  
F = 50% Bambara groundnut flour, 25% African arrowroot lily flour and 25% Soy flour  
G = 40% Bambara groundnut flour, 30% African arrowroot lily flour and 30% Soy flour  
DISCUSSION  
The increase observed in the amino acid content of flour blends could result from the soybean addition due to  
its high quality content of amino acid especially lysine and leucine with glutamic acid having the highest content,  
helps in building muscles and supporting brain functions while arginine is the least content. The amino acid  
content is in agreement with that reported by Ihekoronye and Ngoddy (1985) showing that the Bambara  
groundnut is rich in essential amino acids, such as isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine,  
threonine and valine. There were significant differences (p>0.05) in the lysine and leucine contents of the  
samples with lysine being the basic building block of all proteins while leucine is essential for growth, stimulates  
the production of muscle tissue and protects the liver from the damaging effects of alcohol. In accordance with  
previous literatures, glutamic and aspartic acids are the major non-essential amino acids, while leucine and lysine  
are the principal essential amino acids, thus indicating a protein quality very similar to that assessed for different  
legumes (Mune et al., 2011, Pastor-Cavada et al., 2014). Arginine which has being noted to be responsible for  
children growth (Aremu et al., 2006) was the least concentrated amino acid in bambara groundnut flour but  
increased with addition of soybean and African arrowroot lilly flour. This non-essential amino acid is required  
in muscle metabolism, maintaining the nitrogen balance and helping with weight control as it facilitates the  
increase of muscles mass while reducing body fat. Contrary to the report of Yao et al., (2015), tryptophan has  
high amount in bambara groundnut which increase when added to the flour blends. The high content of alanine  
would help the body to convert glucose to energy and also eliminate excess toxins from the liver while  
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN APPLIED SCIENCE (IJRIAS)  
ISSN No. 2454-6194 | DOI: 10.51584/IJRIAS |Volume X Issue XI November 2025  
Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid that can elevate mood, decrease pain, aid in memory and learning and  
suppress the appetite in children.  
The mean scores for all the sensory attributes evaluated decreased with increased level of soybean and arrowroot  
lily flours in the akpekpa. Akpekpa prepared from 100% bambara groundnut flour (sample A) had the highest  
score for all the sensory parameters. This may be due to the familiarity of the panellists to its appearance, taste,  
texture and aroma as compared to those prepared from the flour blends. Since samples A to E scored above 5  
for all the sensory parameters which is the minimum sensory score acceptable on a 9-point Hedonic scale,  
therefore up to 20% substitution each of African arrowroot lily and soybean flour could be adopted to prepare  
akpekpa. Akubor and Oguche (2011) reported similar observation. Poor taste and aroma response samples F and  
G could be attributed to increasing level of soybean resulting to diminished distinct taste and characteristic aroma  
of akpekpa. In addition, the poor texture for samples F and G may be associated with sogginess of akpekpa due  
to increasing level of African arrowroot lily and soybean flour. However, the scores of general acceptability  
were significantly different (p<0.05) among samples the flour blends except for samples A and B which were  
the most acceptable.  
CONCLUSION  
The incorporation of African arrowroot lily and soybean flours into Bambara groundnut flour enhanced the  
amino-acid composition of the blends and supported the production of akpekpa with desirable sensory qualities.  
Among the formulations tested, the blend containing 90% Bambara groundnut, 5% soybean flour and 5%  
African arrowroot lily flour achieved the highest overall acceptability. This study demonstrates that nutritionally  
improved and organoleptically acceptable akpekpa can be successfully produced using flour blends of Bambara  
groundnut, African arrowroot lily and soybean, offering a viable approach to enhancing the nutritional quality  
of traditional foods.  
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