IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2013) 4-1

Research article
erdEnhancing the Use of Value-Added Products from
Underutilized Fruit of the Endangered Mabolo (Diospyros
blancoi) Tree
REGUCIVILLA A. POBAR*
Bohol Island State University, Tagbilaran City, the Philippines
Email: regupobar@gmail.com
Received 14 December 2012

Accepted 30 January 2013(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Mabolo fruit is from an endangered Mabolo tree in the Philippines. It is an ideal
source of calcium, vitamin B, iron and protein and contains numerous phenolic
compounds that provide powerful antioxidants. It is nutritious but it is underutilized as
human food because of its unpleasant odor comparable to rotten cheese or cat feces and iscovered with hair which is irritating to sensitive skin. Because of this, it got rotten, eatenby the birds, used as feeds to domestic animals and some were thrown as garbage. This
study aimed to produce Mabolo Cake, Mabolo Boat Tart, Mabolo Fritters and Mabolo
Pancake, and to determine their acceptability; to promote the nutritious products to thecommunity; to introduce them to the entrepreneurs; and to encourage everybody to have intheir snack boxes the value-added Mabolo products. This is an experimental study utilizing
the five-point Hedonic scale in assessing the acceptability of the products in six sensory
attributes; appearance, texture, odor, taste and overall liking. The products were assessedby twenty-five panelists. It was found out that Mabolo Cake and Boat Tart ranked first andsecond respectively in six sensory attributes, with a rating within the range of Like Very
Much while Pancake ranked third with a descriptive rating of Like in all attributes. Frittersranked fourth in all attributes with descriptive rating of Like in appearance and taste andNeither Like nor Dislike in Texture, Odor and Overall Liking. It can be concluded that the
products are generally acceptable. Proper promotion of Mabolo products can on one handprovide useful livelihood source while in the other hand provide incentive for communities
for protecting the endangered tree.
Keywords mabolo tree, mabolo cake, mabolo boat tart, mabolo fritters, mabolo pancake,hedonic scale sheet

INTRODUCTION
Mabolo (Diospyros blancoi) is an evergreen forest tree that belongs to the Ebenaceae (Ebony)family. In the Philippines, it is commonly identified by its wood locally known as Kamagong.
Because it is iron-like and nearly unbreakable, Kamagong is  popularly  called  “iron-wood”  and isoften used for furniture and carved into hair combs and knife handles (Bilton, 2012).
Like Narra and Molave, Kamagong is a premium wood. It is protected by Philippine laws by
regulating its extraction from the forest through a Special Private Land Timber Permit issued onlyby the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR, 1990). Its
economic value however undermines such regulation so that by 2007, DENR issued Administrative
Order No. 01 declaring Mabolo Tree/Kamagong as one of the critically endangered species.
Mabolo bears fruit that is about the size of an apple. Its skin that turns into purple or maroon
when ripe is covered with hair. Its seeds are contained in its pulp.
The fruit itself lacks sweetness and is rather dry. However, it is highly nutritious. It is an ideal
source   of   calcium,   vitamin   B,   iron,   and   protein.   Research   shows   that   it   “contains   numerous  phenolic  compounds  that  provide  powerful  antioxidants  (Alvarez,  2012).”  The pulp of the Mabolo fruit emits a strong cheesy odor when opened thus, while bats, birds
and domestic animals feed on it, humans shy away from its foul odor leaving it to rot and beⒸ ISERD

100

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2013) 4-1

thrown away. This makes Mabolo fruit unpopular and underutilized for human consumption
despite its rich nutritive value.
It is in this context that the researcher was inspired to discover recipes using Mabolo fruit.
Acceptable Mabolo food products will lead to the utilization of the fruit as ingredient of humanfood thereby increasing its economic value. This will in turn encourage protection and propagationof the tree that has been mainly cut down for furniture or ornamental use of its wood.
Producing value-added food products from the underutilized fruit of the endangered Mabolo
tree reinforces the implementation of the Forestry Laws of the Philippines. Specifically, it supports
Presidential  Decree  No.  705  that  calls  for  the  “protection,  rehabilitation  and  development  of  forest  lands”   to   ensure   continuity   of   productivity.   Mabolo   fruit   food   items   could   encourage   locals   to  utilize Mabolo fruits instead of its wood as an alternative source of livelihood and thereby preserveand protect Mabolo trees. Likewise, this study generally supports the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
The use of Mabolo fruit as an ingredient to food products that become additional food items andthe bases for manufacturing and production directly responds to Section 10 Article 14 thatencourages  and  prioritizes  research  and  development  for  the  country’s  “productive  and  national  life  (Nolledo,  2009).”  As a development of food recipe, this study involves fortification or enrichment process
which  the  Food  and  Agricultural  Organization  (FAO)  of  the  United  Nations  define  as  “the  addition  of one or more essential nutrients to a food whether or not it is normally contained in the food(Codex  Alimentarius,  1991).”  The  addition  of  shredded  Mabolo  fruit  to  the  basic  cake  and  pancake  recipes; putting Mabolo filling to tart; and making fritters from Mabolo fruit increase nutrients andtherefore enhances the value of the food products.
The researcher fully believed that this study can significantly benefit the following:
Mabolo Growers. The findings of this study will make them realize that food products aside
from wood can be a source of income from Mabolo trees. This will refrain them from cutting andencourage them to grow more Mabolo trees.
Community. Mabolo fruit products which are highly nutritious are good additional items to thepeople’s  snack  or  meal.  
Entrepreneurs. This study provides them with the recipe of the value-added products ofMabolo fruit. It could enable them to mass produce new food items for another income.
Bureau of Forestry and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of thePhilippines. As Filipinos could potentially be encouraged to protect and propagate Mabolo tree in
their locality, this study will support these two Philippine government agencies in enforcing the law
to protect the endangered Mabolo tree.
Food Technology Teachers and Students. The results of the study will inspire them to continue
to experiment and come up with more recipes utilizing Mabolo fruit.
OBJECTIVESThe study aimed to determine the acceptability of the value-added products of Mabolo fruit
developed at Bohol Island State University, Main Campus, Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines for
Academic Year 2011-2012. It also aimed to introduce the food items from the seemingly worthless
Mabolo fruit to the community, to entrepreneurs and to consumers in general.
METHODOLOGYThis study used experimental method in formulating the recipes. After perfecting the recipes, thefinished products were subjected to sensory appraisal which is the scientific method to evoke,measure, analyze and interpret reaction to those characteristics of food materials as they areperceived by the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. In this study the finished products
were evaluated by the panelists using the five point Hedonic scale sheet.
This study was conducted in the Food Technology Laboratory of Bohol Island State
University Main Campus, Tagbilaran City. Twenty five individuals who were chosen throughⒸ ISERD

101

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2013) 4-1

purposive sampling were the panelists/participants of this study. They were the fifteen third year
students from Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology who come from rural communities, thefive Food Technology instructors and the five Food Technology graduates who are now practicing
their craft in rural communities. They were selected because of their expertise in food preparationand processing. The researcher used the 5-point Hedonic Scale comprising – 5- Like Very Much,
4- Like, 3 Neither Like nor Dislike, 2 Dislike and 1- Dislike Very Much was constructed based on
the work of Gatchalian et el. (2009). It was pilot tested to the second year Food Technology
students who were not the actual panelists of the study. After making the necessary improvement, it
was then finalized and reproduced for the purpose of the study.
After recipes utilizing Mabolo fruit were perfected, they were prepared and food products
were subjected to evaluation in three trials. The first trial was done right after cooking while theproducts were still hot; the second was in the afternoon when the products were already cold andthe third was in the following morning. Different trial times were intended to identify possible
change in the ratings of participants. The Hedonic scale was used in the evaluation. The weighted
mean derived from the assigned numerical and descriptive ratings was the basis of analysis.
Table 1 Range used to evaluate Mabolo food products
Numerical Ratings
4.50-5.00
3.50-4.49
2.50-3.49
1.50-2.49
1.00-1.49

Description
Like Very Much
Like
Neither Like nor Dislike
Dislike
Dislike Very Much

Source: The range is adopted from the 5-pont Hedonic Scale of M. Gatchalian.

Table 2 Mabolo fruit Products and Recipes
Name of ProductMabolo Cake

Mabolo Boat Tart

Mabolo Fritters

Mabolo Pancake

RecipeBeat 2 pieces eggs; add ¼ cup oil and ¾ cup sugar. Blend the mixture for
30 seconds. Mix together 1 cup all purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda
and 2 teaspoons baking powder. Add the mixed dry ingredients to the egg
mixture then add ¼ cup evaporated milk and the 1 cup shredded mature
Mabolo fruit and blend well. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour the mixture intoa well-greased 31/2x9x3 inches loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees Celsius until
done. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slice and serve.
Tart filling: In a bowl, mix together 1 big can condensed milk, 1 cup all
purpose flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 piece egg, 1 cup shredded Mabolo
fruit, ¼ cup peanuts and ¼ butter. Mix well and cook in a double boiler
until mixture spreads consistently. When done, remove from fire and allow
to cool. Set aside.
Crust: Cream 1 cup butter until floppy. Add ¼ cup butter until floppy. Add¼ cup sugar and 1 piece egg, beat well. Add 1 cup flour and mix well.
Mold in well-greased tart shell molder. Bake until done. Fill the crust withtart filling. Wrap in colored cellophane.
Cut mature Mabolo fruit into serving pieces about 1/3 inch thick. Slightly
dust the fruit with flour. To make the batter, sift 2 cups flour, ¼ cup sugar
and 1 cup water and beat to form a smooth batter. Stream before using. Dip
fruit into batter and fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain excess oil.
Arrange on serving platter. Sprinkle with sugar.
Sift together 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons baking powder.
Beat 2 pieces eggs and add to flour mixture. Mix 1 cup evaporated milk,flour mixtures and ½ cup butter. Add three cups shredded mature Mabolo
fruit and blend. Pour 1/2 cup of mixture into a shallow pan brushed withoil. Pan-fry until golden brown. Serve with syrup or honey.

*Perfected recipes after several trials conducted by the researcher in the university laboratory.

Ⓒ ISERD

102

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2013) 4-1

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Acceptability of food is usually based on sensory attributes such as appearance, texture, odor, taste,
and overall liking. Appearance attribute includes color, size and shape. Texture covers the feel andtouch sensation and the viscosity and consistency of the product. On the other hand, the odor refers
to the smell while the taste refers to sweetness, bitterness, sourness, and saltiness of the snack item.
In this study, Mabolo snack products were assessed based on the cited five sensory attributes.
First sensory evaluation result
The results of the first sensory evaluation show that Mabolo Boat Tart was rated highest in
appearance and texture liking at 4.75 and 4.78 respectively. Both ratings have the qualitativedescription of Like Very Much. This is favorably influenced by the boat-like shape of the crust of
the Tart and its crunchiness and flakiness that caught the attention of the panelists.
Mabolo Cake was rated highest in odor and taste attributes at 4.86 and 4.56 respectively. Bothhave the qualitative description of Like Very Much. Odor and Taste sensations are the attributes offlavor which determine the acceptance or rejection of a food product (Gatchalian, 2009). In thisstudy therefore, Mabolo Cake is highly acceptable in flavor.
Among the food products, Mabolo Fritters is rated relatively lowest in all sensory attributes.
However, all the rates have the corresponding qualitative description of Like while its Overall
liking is Neither Like nor Dislike. This makes the fritters still generally acceptable.
The first sensory evaluation was carried out right after production of the food items.
Second sensory evaluation result
Results of the second sensory evaluation reveal that Mabolo Cake has the highest rates in texture,odor and taste attributes while Boat Tart is rated highest in appearance and overall liking.
Consistent with the first evaluation, Mabolo Pancake and Mabolo Fritters were rated third andfourth, respectively in all sensory attributes both with the qualitative description of Like.
This evaluation was done after the food items were allowed to cool.
Third sensory evaluation result
Third evaluation results identify Mabolo Cake being rated highest in appearance. This could befavorably brought about by the enhanced appearance of the cake that attracted the panelists due tothe shredded Mabolo fruit grains that became noticeable when the product was allowed to cool.
Overnight, the good taste developed while the texture remained soft so that the cake was likewise
rated highest in texture and taste liking. Meanwhile, Mabolo Tart was relatively rated highest onlyin odor attribute at 4.28.
Of the four products, Mabolo Fritter has the least rate in five sensory attributes. It has an
overall qualitative rating of Neither Like nor Dislike which may be brought about by theappearance, texture and odor of the product after one day. Upon examination, the product shrank,
became crumbly; the odor of the Mabolo fruit became noticeable and the taste changed as the oilstarted to appear in the surface.
Overall result of the three sensory evaluations
Putting together the results of the three evaluations, Mabolo Cake consistently ranked first,
followed by Mabolo Boat Tart, then Mabolo Pancake and Mabolo Fritters. None of the four valueadded Mabolo products were rated Dislike or Dislike Very Much.

Ⓒ ISERD

103

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2013) 4-1

Table 3 Overall rating of the three sensoryevaluations
Product

Evaluation
2nd

Rank

3rd

Overall
RatingDescription

1stMabolo Cake
Mabolo Boat Tart
Mabolo Fritters
Mabolo Pancake

4.57
4.75
4.0
4.0

4.8
4.87
4.0
4.16

4.88
4.6
3.16
4.16

4.75
4.74
3.72
4.11

Like Very Much
Like Very Much
Like
Like

1
2
4
3

Texture Liking
Mabolo Cake
Mabolo Boat Tart
Mabolo Fritters
Mabolo Pancake

4.17
4.78
3.80
4.00

4.14
4.13
3.6
3.8

5.0
4.0
3.0
4.0

4.44
4.30
3.46
3.93

Like
Like
Like
Like

1
2
4
3

Odor Liking
Mabolo Cake
Mabolo Boat Tart
Mabolo Fritters
Mabolo Pancake

4.86
4.29
3.63
4.02

4.75
4.6
3.83
4.17

4.0
4.28
3.0
4.0

4.54
4.39
3.49
4.06

Like Very Much
Like
Neither Like Nor Dislike
Like

1
2
4
3

Taste Liking
Mabolo Cake
Mabolo Boat Tart
Mabolo Fritters
Mabolo Pancake

4.56
4.5
3.8
4.0

4.56
4.43
3.75
4.0

5.0
4.14
3.0
4.0

4.71
4.36
3.51
4.0

Like Very Much
Like
Like
Like

1
2
4
3

Overall Liking
Mabolo Cake
Mabolo Boat Tart
Mabolo Fritters
Mabolo Pancake

4.88
4.67
3.6
4.17

4.5
4.57
3.75
4.25

4.13
4.25
3.0
4.0

4.50
4.49
3.45
4.14

Like Very Much
Like Very Much
Neither Like Nor Dislike
Like Very Much

1
2
4
3

Appearance Liking

Shelf life
Samples of the products were allowed to stand at room temperature to observe the changes that
may take place. Fritters and Pancake were observed to have oil appearing on the surface on thesecond day but they were still edible. On the third day, they were already watery and should bediscarded as molds began to appear. The cake on the other hand, had changes on the third day as
the texture began to soften and molds appeared on the fourth day which makes it unfit for humanconsumption. Only Boat Tart survived until the seventh day.
Boat Tart thus ranked first in shelf life as it lasted for seven days. It was followed by cakes,
pancakes and fritters which can only be eaten safely until the second day. However, remedy can bedone in cake since it can still be toasted to last for a little longer and can be stored for future use.
Marketability
The four value-added products from Mabolo were displayed at the school cafeteria of Bohol island
State  University  Main  Campus  for  sale.  It  was  observed  that  in  one  week’s  display of the products,
cakes, pancakes fritters and boat tarts were all sold. It was noted that the product were saleable
among people of all ages since the products were bought by faculty members and college and highschool students. Fritters and pancakes were the favorites of high school students while it wasobserved that faculty members ordered cake and boat tart as their present for their children andloved ones.
Ⓒ ISERD

104

IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2013) 4-1

CONCLUSION
Mabolo fruit can be eaten by any person without noticing its unpleasant smell. Its foul cheesy odor
can be dissipated by removing the skin and by processing it adequately. It can therefore be fully
utilized as food for humans and not only as animal feeds.
Snack items from Mabolo fruit were generally acceptable and they can be made more
nutritious with other flavorings.
It is recommended that dissemination of this study be done to promote the use of Mabolo fruit
for food items. This should specifically be introduced as an alternative source of livelihood in therural community where Mabolo trees are still found in substantial number. The snack items are
nutritious and easy to prepare. Mabolo Cake and Mabolo Boat Tart can be cooked with the use ofnative or clay oven while fritters and pancake can be cooked using frying pan or carajay which are
the commonly used kitchen equipment and utensil in those areas.
This study should also be disseminated to entrepreneurs. The nutritive value and availability offruit supply could convince them to mass produce the food items for commercial purposes.
Finally, food technologists should be informed of this study to inspire them to conduct
experiment for other products that could be derived from Mabolo fruit.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research undertaking comes into fruition with the kind assistance from Bohol Island State
University administration, Faculty and Food Technology students. In particular, the researcher isgrateful to Dr. Elpidio T. Magante, CE, Ed.D., University President, for the permission and warm
support in the conduct of the study. Acknowledgement is likewise due to Prof. Lucia J. Poyos, herresearch assistant.
REFERENCES
ASTM MNL. 14. The role of sensory analysis in quality control. (Retrieved from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory-analysis).
Food fortification. (Retrieved from www.Wikipedia.org/wiki/cake. November 27, 2012).
Alvarez, A. Mabolo. (Retrieved from http://www.philippineherbalmedicine.org. November 20,2012).
Bilton, P. 2012. The tropical fruit mabolo: nutrition, culinary uses and kamagong hardwood. (Retrieved fromfood nutrition.knoji.com/the-tropical-fruit. November 16, 2012).
Castella, K. 2010. A world of cake. (Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cake. November 29, 2012).
Davidson, A. 2010 .The oxford companion to food, SV tart. (Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Tart. November 29, 2012).
Gatchalian, M. and G. Brannan. 2009. Sensory quality measurement: statistical analysis of human response.
Quality Partners Company. Quezon City, Philippines. 187, 1-3, 29-43.
Pancake history pancakeology. (Retrieved December 3, 2012 from http://enwikipedia.org/wiki /Pancake).
Nolledo, J. and Nolledo, M. 2009. The constitution of the republic of the Philippines explained (EnglishFilipino Version). National Bookstore. Mandaluyong City, Philippines. 344.
Mabolo-healthy benefits of. (Retrieved from www.healthybenefitsof.com/p/mabolo.html. November 15,2012).

Ⓒ ISERD

105