Proximate composition, mineral and vitamin contents of
Syzygium Malaccensis
(red) and
Eugenia Owariensis
(green) apples obtained from Calabar, Nigeria were
determined. Musts of the two apple species were fermented for six days into wines
and allowed to age for twelve months. The fat, protein, tannin and total acidity were
significantly low among the two apple species. There were significant differences (p <
0.05) in the proximate nutritive values of the edible parts of the two apples.
Significant differences (p < 0.05) were also observed in calcium, iron, sodium,
vitamin A and carotene contents among the two apples. Vitamin A and carotene
contents were higher in
Syzygium malaccensis and lower in
Eugenia owariensis,
while the contents of vitamin C for both apples were similar. The zinc contents were
in trace levels for the two apple species. Among the minerals, calcium content was
found to be higher in
S. malaccensis (5.54 ± 0.03 mg/100g) than in
E. owariensis (5.16
± 0.03 mg/100g) while the sodium and iron contents were higher in
E. owariensis (1.5
± 0.03 mg/100g and 0.43 ± 0.02 mg/100g respectively). The aged wines were
subjected to physical, chemical, mineral and organoleptic analyses. Physical
properties such as appearance, color, flavor and taste were examined using taste
panels. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the total acidity, residual sugar
and ash contents of the wine samples but the alcohol content was similar averaging
11.0%. The amount of sodium and iron were higher in
E. owariensis (18.85 ± 0.02
and 3.6 ± 0.04 mg/l respectively) than in
S. malaccensis (14.4 ± 0.02 and 3.1 ± 0.04
mg/l). The composition of the wine produced from
S. malaccensis had acceptable pH,
titratable acidity, alcohol, chemical and slightly better mineral contents when
compared with
E. owariensis wine. Both apple wines were crisp, clear with distinct
apple wine flavor. The overall results indicate that
S. malaccensis apple species with
slightly better wine characteristics has strong potential for the production of quality
commercial wine.
