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Recently, tannins have received considerable attention as health-promoting component in various plant foods and several studies have reported on its nutraceutical properties. However, no study has established the role of condensed tannins in indigenous foods of Kenya. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP) and antidiabetic effects (α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition activities) of condensed tannins in some selected raw and traditionally processed indigenous cereals, legumes, oil seeds, and vegetables. The condensed tannin content of the grains and vegetables ranged between 2.55 and 4.35 g/100 g DM and 1.53 and 5.73 g/100 g DM, respectively. The scavenging effect of acetonic extract on DPPH radical ranged from 77% to 90% while the reducing power was found to be 31 to 574 mmol Fe(II)/g DM in all the investigated food ingredients. The condensed tannin extracts of the analyzed samples showed promising antidiabetic effects with potential α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition activities of 23% to 44% and 58% to 88%, respectively. Condensed tannins extracted from the amaranth grain, finger millet, field bean, sunflower seeds, drumstick, and amaranth leaves exerted significantly higher antioxidant and antidiabetic activities than other food ingredients. Among the traditional processing methods, roasting of grains and cooking of vegetables were found to be more suitable mild treatments for preserving the tannin compound and its functional properties as opposed to soaking + cooking and blanching treatments. The identified elite sources of optimally processed indigenous food ingredients with promising results could be used as health-promoting ingredients through formulation of therapeutic diets.

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the nutritional quality and key essentialnutrients in indigenous foodsconsumed by vulnerable groups to identify practical applications for alleviation of hunger and malnutrition in Kenya.Plant foods such as cereals, legumes and vegetables possess high nutritive value and functional properties which are associated with positive health and nutrition. Methodology and results: The indigenous foods were identified and selected on the basis of common food ingredients used by vulnerable groups in Kenya. They were evaluated for their nutritional composition, amino acid and fatty acid profiles using standard methods. The foods contained 6-44% protein; 11-43% fat; 324-497 kcal energy; 15-57% carbohydrates; 25-328 mg/100g calcium; 1.0-51 mg/100g iron; 44-1320 mg/100g magnesium among others.The indigenous vegetables exhibited 3.2-63 mg/100g vitamin C and 0.7-5.1 mg/100g β-carotene contents while the grains showed 22-110 µg/100g folic acid, 1.2-17.7 mg/100g niacin andhigh B Vitamins content. The total essential amino acid content ranged from 0.9 to 12.8% whilefatty acid levels were 4.8-33.6% palmitic, 1.5-9.0% stearic, 2.2-53.9% oleic, 4.5-53.7% linoleic and 0.9-60.4% α-linolenic acids. Conclusion and application of findings: The study demonstrated that the food ingredients were high in macroand micro-nutrients, essential amino acids and fatty acids, and could potentially be used in addressing nutrition and food security issues, particularly among vulnerable groups in Kenya. The study findings provide practical feasibility of on use of locally-produced formulations as low-cost alternatives in supplementary and emergency feeding programmes to reduce malnutrition and chronic diseases. These foods are low-cost and locally available and therefore offer food-based solutions to hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

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