Compositional Characterization of Vitamins, Fatty Acids, and Amino Acids in Functional Smoothies Formulated with Selected Fruit and Vegetables

Adelu Akeem Olalekan; Momoh Aisha Jimoh

doi:10.56201/rjfsqc.vol.12.no6.2026.pg70.80

📄 Download Paper

Compositional Characterization of Vitamins, Fatty Acids, and Amino Acids in Functional Smoothies Formulated with Selected Fruit and Vegetables

Adelu Akeem Olalekan, Momoh Aisha Jimoh

Abstract

Smoothies produced from a blend of coconut extract, apples, carrots, cucumbers, beetroot juice, and bitter gourd leaves powder were evaluated for vitamins, fatty acids, and amino acids profiles. Four samples, AAA, BBB, CCC, and DDD, were formulated with varying ratios of bitter gourd leaves powder, beetroot juice, to the base (equal combination of carrot, cucumber, apple, and coconut extract). The Smoothie sample BBB had the highest concentration of vitamin A (730.50±1.57 mg/100 g) and vitamin C (4.53±0.02 mg/100 g), while sample CCC had the lowest vitamin B2 (0.06±0.01 mg/100 g) and Vitamin D (0.01±0.01 mg/100g). Fatty acid analysis revealed, Lauric acid range of 25.23 to 29.08 g/100g. Oleic acid was most abundant in all samples (25.52 to 29.97g/100g), with a balanced profile of monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio. In particular, the smoothie sample AAA had the greatest MUFA/PUFA ratio (2.55), which could help to lower the risk of heart disease. The essential amino acids , dominate smoothie samples. Sample AAA had the highest concentration (2.87 g/100 g) of all, while sample DDD was the lowest (2.19 g/100 g). There were significant concentrations of conditional essential amino acids and non-essential amino acids in all samples. The study emphasizes the nutritional content of these functional smoothies, which comprise both macronutrients and important micronutrients, confirming smoothie importance as a beneficial dietary supplement.

Keywords

Functional foodsAmino and fatty acids profileFruit and Vegetable SmoothieEssential vitaminsNutrient-dense

References

Adelu, Akeem Olalekan, Owie Uyinmwen Charity, Durojaiye, Obomeghei Kuburat and Aizebeokhai O. John (2024). Nutritional Profile and Sensory Evaluation of Beetroot- Enriched Functional Fruit and Vegetable Smoothies. Malaysian Journal of Halal Research 7(2) (2024) 70-73. Anitra C. Carr1,* and Silvia Maggini (2017), Vitamin C and Immune Function, Nutrients, 9(11), 1211;https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9111211 AOAC International. (2016). Official Methods of Analysis. 20th Edition. Calder, P. C., Carr, A. C., Gombart, A. F., and Eggersdorfer, M. (2020). Optimal Nutritional Status for a Well-Functioning Immune System Is an Important Factor to Protect against Viral Infections. Nutrients, 12(4), 1181 Dayrit, F. M. (2014). The properties of lauric acid and their significance in coconut oil. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 92(1), 1-15 DebMandal, M., and Mandal, S. (2011). Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.: Arecaceae): In health promotion and disease prevention. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, 4(3), 241–247. FAO/WHO/UNU. (2007). Protein and amino acid requirements in human nutrition. WHO Technical Report Series 935. Howard, A. C., McNeil, A. K., and McNeil, P. L. (2011). Promotion of plasma membrane repair by vitamin E. Nature Communications, 2, 597 Jemimah A. Michael1 , Victor T. Olatuyi1 , Akeem O. Adelu1 , Adedolapo I. Falodun1 , Gideon M. Ogungbenro1 , Esther E. Nwanna2 , Olusola O. Elekofehinti2 and Adebanjo A. Badejo (2024) Antioxidant activities of developed natural smoothies and their effects on blood glucose levels and expression of pro-inflammatory genes in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, Food Production, Processing and Nutrition (2024) 6:78 https://doi.org/10.1186/s43014-024-00249-1 K. S. Gayathry and Jenny Ann John (2022), A comprehensive review on bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) as a gold mine of functional bioactive components for therapeutic foods, Food Production, Processing and Nutrition, 4:10 https://doi.org/10.1186/s43014-022-00089-x Kale RG, Sawate AR, Kshirsagar RB, Patil BM and Mane RP (2018), Studies on evaluation of physical and chemical composition of beetroot (Beta vulgaris L, International Journal of Chemical Studies 2018; 6(2): 2977-2979 Kishore Kumar and Vikrant Jain (2024), GLYCINE DERIVATIVES IN HEALTHCARE: AN EXTENSIVE REVIE, International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science, Volume:06/Issue:08, 2036 – 2042 Li, Y.; Peng, Y.; Shen, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, L.; Yang, X. (2021) Dietary Polyphenols: Regulate the Advanced Glycation End Products-RAGE Axis and the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis to Prevent Neurodegenerative Diseases. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nutrition, 1–27. Nasir M, Trujillo D, Levine J, Dwyer JB, Rupp ZW, Bloch MH. Glutamate Systems in DSM-5 Anxiety Disorders: Their Role and a Review of Glutamate and GABA Psychopharmacology. Front Psychiatry. 2020 Nov 19; 11:548505. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.548505. PMID: 33329087; PMCID: PMC7710541. Okwori, E., Onu, R., O. Adamu, M., Chindo, H., Dikko, H., Odunze, l.l, Baidu, A.L., Natala, C and Eze, P. (2024) Production and shelf life determination of fruit/vegetable juices using watermelon, cucumber, pineapple and carro, Computer Engineering and Applications, Volume 14 Issue 11 (2024) Oliveira, L. T., Silva, G. R., and Souza, M. C. (2021). Vitamin E stability in carrot and coconut- based smoothies. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 97, 103748. Patricia E. Wainwright (2024) Dietary essential fatty acids and brain function: a developmental perspective on mechanisms, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 61, 61–69. DOI: 10.1079/PNS2001130 Petersen KF, Dufour S, Cline GW, Shulman GI. Regulation of hepatic mitochondrial oxidation by glucose-alanine cycling during starvation in humans. J Clin Invest. 2019 Nov 1;129(11):4671-4675. doi: 10.1172/JCI129913. PMID: 31545298; PMCID: PMC6819088. Ruxton, C. (2008) Smoothies: One Portion or Two? Nutrition. Bull. , 33, 129–132. Schwingshackl, L., and Hoffmann, G. (2014). Monounsaturated fatty acids and risk of cardiovascular disease: synopsis of the evidence available from systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 24(9), 929–939. Sentkowska, K. (2023) Old-Fashioned, but Still a Superfood, Red Beets as a Rich Source of Bioactive Compounds. Applied. Science, 13, 7445 Simopoulos, A. P. (2011). Importance of the omega-6/omega-3 balance in cardiovascular disease prevention. Nutrition in Clinical Practice, 26(5), 517-525. USDA Food Data Central (2023). Beetroot, raw: Nutrient profile including vitamin B1 (thiamine). https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ (Accessed May 2025) Watzl, B. (2008) Smoothies—Wellness aus der Flasche? Ernährungs Umsch., 6, 352–353. Wu, G. (2013). Functional amino acids in nutrition and health. Amino Acids, 45(3), 407-411. Yauheni Shastak and Wolf Pelletie (2024). Exploring the role of riboflavin in swine wellbeing: a literature review. Porcine Health Management, 10:46

Compositional Characterization of Vitamins, Fatty Acids, and Amino Acids in Functional Smoothies Formulated with Selected Fruit and Vegetables

Abstract

Keywords

References

More Articles from RESEARCH JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE AND QUALITY CONTROL