Developing a safe and shelf-stable bio-actives rich flour from commonly consumed vegetables in Uganda

Vegetable consumption is strongly recommended worldwide for overall human health based on studies that have shown an association between their consumption and reduced risk of certain degenerative diseases. They contain numerous nutrients beneficial for health among which are bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and carotenoids (Kumar et al., 2020; Thummakomma & Prashanthi, 2019) with very low energy densities. Nonetheless, vegetables are perishable products whose production in Uganda relies majorly on the availability of rain since the country lacks well-established irrigation systems (Bwire et al., 2017). The over-dependence on rainfall leads to a vegetable surplus during the wet season causing serious post-harvest losses with both economic and environmental consequences. The dry season causes vegetable scarcity, reducing their accessibility and availability to the population, making processing and long-term preservation of immense importance. Several methods have been locally employed to increase shelf life, among which boiling, steaming, sun-drying (Bighaghire et al, 2021; Musinguzi et al, 2011), and solar drying (a modification of sun-drying) are the most used. Among the bioactive compounds in leafy vegetables with related health benefits, phenolic compounds (Thummakomma & Prashanthi, 2019) and beta-carotene (Kumar et al., 2020) have been reported to occur in abundance. However, vegetable processing techniques may lead to changes in concentrations of these bioactive compounds and hence changes in the total antioxidant capacity of the vegetables.  The current PhD project aims to optimise the processing and storage conditions of various important leafy vegetables in Uganda for better retention of the health-beneficial compounds. The notable surplus of the highly perishable produce during the rainy/wet season necessitates the processing of the vegetables into safe, nutritious, and shelf-stable products to avail the vegetable-sourced nutrients and bioactive compounds throughout the year. Furthermore, the proposed product will help in value addition and deliver the highly demanded convenience, especially in the urban setting hence improvement in vegetable consumption as recommended.