OPTIMISING A PROCESSING PROTOCOL FOR A SAFE AND VITAMIN C RICH CONCOCTION USED BY UGANDANS TO ALLEVIATE SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19.

• Main Authors: Eddie Zziwa (Author), Ronnic Rogers Omara (Author), Ribon Musoga Okot (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Student's Journal of Health Research, 2023-03-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Background: When the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic on 12 March 2020, desperate Ugandans who could not afford exorbitant fees for treatment of COVID-19 resorted to using cannabis and other local herbs to treat the deadly disease. One of the popular concoctions used was a mixture of garlic, lemons, ginger, onion, and red pepper. The main objective was to optimize the processing protocol for a safe and vitamin C-rich concoction. Methodology: A centralized statistical screening design was applied to optimize the processing conditions. The processing conditions, including temperature and time, were optimized to maximize vitamin C retention while ensuring microbial safety. Results: The concoction that was prepared at the optimized conditions, 83 °C for 5 minutes, had a vitamin C retention of 69.51% and a microbial load of 0 CFU/ml. Confirmation runs were performed at 83 °C for 5 minutes and the observed responses coincided well with the predicted values given by the optimization technique. Conclusion: To best preserve the concoction's vitamin C content and, at the same time ensure a safe microbial load, it should be prepared at 83 °C for 5 minutes.   Recommendation: Further analysis is to be conducted on the optimization protocol for toxicity and effectiveness of the concoctions.

Item Description

10.51168/sjhrafrica.v4i3.331
2709-9997