https://journals.ipsintelligentsia.com/food-science/index.php/ijnfs <p><strong>Journal Summary: </strong><strong>Scope:</strong> Publishes in all areas of nutrition and food Sciences. <strong>ISSN:</strong> Print and Online. <strong>Crossref DOI Prefix: </strong>10.54117. <strong>Frequency:</strong> Accepted papers are published immediately. <strong>Journal model:</strong> Open Access. <strong>Article Processing Charges:</strong> $20 or #26,500 for local authors. <strong>Abstracting &amp; Indexing:</strong> Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, Index Copernicus, Crossref, WorldCat. <strong>Type of articles:</strong> All kinds of articles including book of abstracts and conference proceedings. <strong>Review type:</strong> Double-blind peer review. <strong>License type:</strong> CC BY 4.0. <strong>Area of coverage:</strong> Nutrition and Food Sciences and their applied Antioxidants and Phytochemicals in Food, Food Processing Technology, Calorie Intake and Consumption, Carbohydrates and Fibers, Clinical Nutrition, Diets and Diseases, Eating Disorders, Food Chemistry, Engineering and Microbiology, Food Conservation and Preparation, Food Machinery, Food Packaging, Food Safety and Hygiene, Food Science and Technology, Grain and Oil Engineering, Healthy Eating Initiatives, Hormonal Regulations, Malnutrition, Maternal and Infant Nutrition, Nutrition Physiology, Nutrient Metabolism, Nutrition and Immunology, Obesity, Proteins and Amino Acids, Public Health Nutrition, Sensory Analysis, Sports Nutrition, Vitamins and Minerals.</p> IPS Intelligentsia Publishing Services en-US IPS Journal of Nutrition and Food Science https://journals.ipsintelligentsia.com/food-science/index.php/ijnfs/article/view/84 <p>Fruit bars were produced from exotic <em>Garcinia kola</em> fruit pulp puree at different concentrations. The bars were sweetened using 'date fruit paste', aspartame and sucrose. Hydrocolloids such as guar gum, xanthan gum and gelatin were added for stabilization. Analysis of the sensory results showed that the aspartame sweetened bars were preferred for their crispiness, taste color and mouthfeel. Further characterization of the bar samples with overall acceptability score ≥ 5.0 indicated that while fruit bars sweetened with aspartame and stabilized using gelatin was higher in crude protein content, the sucrose sweetened bars had higher carbohydrate content. The energy values of the bars ranged between 265.59 and 348.15 kcal/100g. Essential minerals were present in appreciable amounts in the fruit bars samples in this order: potassium&gt;calcium&gt;phosphorus&gt;sodium&gt;magnesium&gt;iron&gt;zinc. The results also showed that the <em>G. kola</em> fruit bars were low in antinutrients and contains beneficial antioxidants and bioactive compounds such as vitamin E, flavonoids, carotenoids, tannins, alkaloids and phenols. The pH of the bars (3.0 – 4.0) and the acidity values (0.16 – 0.22%) is an indication of potential shelf stability of the bars.</p> Nuria Chinonyerem Oganezi Ogan I. Mba Uchenna Okonkwo Copyright (c) 2025 Nuria Chinonyerem Oganezi, Ogan I. Mba, Uchenna Okonkwo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 2025-04-06 2025-04-06 4 2 372 383 10.54117/ijnfs.v4i2.84