Product Development of Instant Corn Silk Tea

Pang, Chooi Ying (2019) Product Development of Instant Corn Silk Tea. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

Corn silk (Stigma maydis) is considered as a waste in the corn production and often discarded by manufacturers. Corn silk is rich in bioactive components and has been reported to have some nutraceutical and therapeutics values. Corn silk was utilized in this study to develop an instant corn silk tea (CST). The sensory qualities, proximate composition and antioxidant properties of CST were examined. A preliminary study was conducted to improve the taste of corn silk tea by incorporating corn, fruit and sweetened with honey. It was formulated to contain corn silks and corn extract (3:1) (56%), apple tea (14%), honey (9%), decaffeinated green tea (9%) and maltodextrin (12%). The extracts of various ingredients were premixed and freeze-dried to yield a readily soluble powdered instant corn silk tea. Sensory evaluation was conducted to determine its acceptability in terms of its appearance, taste, aroma, corn aftertaste and sweetness. The mean overall acceptability score of corn silk tea was 7 out of 9 with an Acceptance Index of 77%. Proximate analysis results showed that instant CST powder had significantly higher crude fiber (0.57±0.01%) than the control without corn silk (0.07±0.01%). To evaluate its antioxidant properties, radical scavenging of DPPH, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) were determined. Corn silk tea contained significantly higher (p<0.05) percentage of inhibition (42.6%), TPC (4.15 mg GAE/ml) and TFC (9.38 mg CAE/ml) compared to the control without corn silk. In conclusion, this study provides a feasible way to develop instant corn silk tea from crop waste. The product has acceptable sensory characteristics and also as a source of antioxidant.