Formulation, Nutrient Analysis and Sensory Properties of Lemongrass (Cymbopogon Citratus) Incorporated Soup Varieties

Introduction: Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a perennial and promising herb that has more than 500 species with a wide range of growth potentials and special functional qualities which make it more beneficial in many of the foods we consume every day. All parts of lemongrass including leaf, stalk, oil, and flavour are used since they contain the highest levels of nutrients and antioxidants.

Objectives: Formulation, analysis of nutrient content and evaluation of sensory qualities of lemon grass incorporated soup varieties. Materials and Method: The raw ingredients were procured, processed, and prepared for three standard varieties of soup namely cabbage soup, radish soup and mushroom soup. Processed lemon grass paste was incorporated at the level of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% into three standard soups formulas. All the prepared variations were evaluated for sensory characteristics using a 5-points Likert scale and compared statistically. The most accepted soup variety was chosen for nutrient analysis and finally selected the best incorporation level of lemongrass paste.

Results and Discussion: The results stated that lemon grass incorporated radish soup had secured the highest significant overall mean rating score of 16.3 out of 20 when compared to the other two varieties of soups and was also selected as the best soup variation. The nutrient content such as energy, protein, fat, potassium and magnesium of selected lemongrass incorporated radish soups were comparable and 20% level of incorporation achieved maximum nutritional qualities.

Conclusion: The findings concluded that the prepared lemon grass incorporated soups were highly acceptable and received good scores in sensory evaluations. The lemongrass-incorporated radish soup was chosen as the best soup and also proved to have a good amount of nutrients. Hence, lemongrass showed high potential as a functional ingredient for soups.