Sensory Attributes and General Acceptability of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) Seed Herbal Tea

 Researchers:

de Manuel, Joann

Estandarte, Alyssa Jerrene

Ma, Sharinah Mae

Natividad, Hannah

Reyes, Ma. Angelica

Research Adviser:

Ma. Regaele A. Olarte

 Scope and Limitations 

        The study covered the sensory attributes and general acceptability of the prepared herbal tea from okra (Abelmoscus esculentus) seed. The only part of the okra that was studied was its seed. The seed from matured and young seed were used in the preparation of okra seed tea. A known commercial tea (Lipton_TM) that was bought from the market served as the control. Instead of extracting, canning, or bottling, the okra seed tea was presented in sealed tea bags. The sensory characteristics that were evaluated include color, sweetness, flavor, and general acceptability.  In testing the flavor, the original essence of okra seed herbal tea was tested. Then, pandan flavoring was used sparingly (one drop per 15 mL) to enhance the effect without masking the original flavor of the okra seed. The overall or general acceptability of the tea was also considered. This study used human subjects only as respondents for the quality scoring but not as instruments to test the medical properties of the okra seed. The venue where human subjects were used was in Bliss, Muntinlupa. The respondents were asked to sign their informed consent forms as they voluntarily performed the sensory tests.

The restriction of this study was the inability of the researchers to conduct survey using people above 18 years old. Pregnant women and children were also not allowed to be used as subjects. The duration of the complete study was from August 25, 2010 to January 29, 2011.