Sweet potatoes (Ipomea batatas) are important nutritious staple crop in Rwanda. The aim of the study was to compare the nutritional composition of selected yellow and white sweet potato varieties cultivated in Rwanda. Two yellow varieties (Kwizekumwe, 440170) and two white varieties (Mugande and Rutambira 4-160) were used for the study. Estimation of moisture, ash, protein, crude fibre was conducted using standard AOAC procedures. Total reducing sugars and β carotene was determined by UV Spectrophotometric method. The study revealed that the moisture content in the sweet potato varieties was quite high and ranged between 62.58  0.42 to 64.34  0.42 .The crude protein (0.91  0.05) and total reducing sugar (2.50 ± 0.12 ) content was high in Kwizekumwe and were the least in 440170 variety with 0.7 ±0.03 and 1.74 ± 0.07 respectively. However, the 440170 variety recorded the highest in crude fibre ( 0.14 ± 0.00) and the least was observed in Rutambira 4-160 variety ( 0.11 ± 0.00). Crude ash was high in Kwizekumwe (0.44±0.07) while Mugande had the least ash content (0.40±0.02). β carotene content was present only in the yellow varieties but was found to be high in Kwizekumwe (1.85±0.00). Thus, Kwizekumwe was found to be more nutritious when compared to the other varieties.

No data exist on the nutrient composition of some important Rwandan staples. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutrient content of red kidney beans, sweet potato roots, amaranth leaves and carrot roots. About 6 kg of each raw material were cleaned and conditioned prior to mechanical drying, ground and sieved [60-mesh] into flour and then subjected to quantitative analysis for proximate content,energy, calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), vitamin A and vitamin C. Proximate composition determination was done using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), carbohydrates were determined by difference, energy was calculated, mineral analysis was done by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and vitamin analysis was performed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) methods. The results showed that red kidney beans, sweet potato roots, amaranth leaves and carrots contain 21.48, 6.66, 29.46 and 13.8% of protein; 2.58, 1.68, 7.89 and 2.08% of fat; 60.86, 79.13, 19.29 and 57.38% of carbohydrate; 2.33, 2.68, 8.98 and 9.63% of fiber; 8.82, 8.74, 10.08 and 8.88% of moisture content; 3.94, 1.11, 24.30 and 5.16% of ash; 357.2, 363.7, 284.0, 322.9 kcal/100g of energy; and 146.4, 182.7, 26,290 and 1,247mg/kg of calcium,respectively. Red kidney beans, amaranth leaves and carrots contained8.54, 30.48, and 15.55 mg/kg of zinc; and 21.36, 219.1and 8.81 mg/kg of iron,respectively. Zinc and iron were,however,not detected in sweet potato samples analysed. Red kidney beans, sweet potato roots, amaranth leaves and carrot contained 768.0, 10,880, 399.4, and 6,413 IU/100g of vitamin A; and 2.67, 30.99, 330.3 and 6.76 mg/100g of vitamin C,respectively. In conclusion, the staples analysed contained appreciable amounts of nutrients and could be used to overcome malnutrition and allow dietary diversity. It could be recommended to prepare a Rwandanfood composition database in order to improve awareness on local grown crops’ quality.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of soaking, boiling and frying on retention of micro-minerals as well as degradation of polyphenols and phytic acids. Soaking of the beans did not significantly (p > 0.05) decrease mineral, total polyphenol and phytic acid content of beans. While boiling of beans significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the concentration of total polyphenols and phytic acid but not the mineral content of the beans. Frying of boiled beans decreased the total polyphenol content but increased the concentration of phytic acids in beans. Data obtained in this study indicates that cooking of beans without discarding of soaking water and broth results into greater retention of minerals but frying may be detrimental to mineral bioavailability because it leads to increase in phytic acid content.

Women in Rwanda are still suffering from overweight and obesity and health-related complications. However, little is known about overweight/obesity prevention knowledge and factors associated with overweight/obesity prevention among women. The aim of this study was to determine knowledge and factors associated with overweight and obesity prevention among women attending Kibagabaga Hospital in Rwanda. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design was conducted among women aged 20-45 years that was selected randomly. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 384 women seeking health care at the hospital during the study period. SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis; descriptive statistics was used to assess women’s knowledge related to overweight/obesity. Logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with overweight/obesity prevention, the level of significance was set at 5%. Approval to conduct the study was obtained from the University and Hospital. The majority 35.4% of study participants were aged between 30-34 years. Women who live in urban area dominate the study (76.3%), the majority of study participants were married (60.9%). The study revealed that the 22% and 62% of women had higher level and moderate knowledge respectively. In terms of overweight/obesity prevention practices, we found that 67% mothers had adequate practices towards overweight and obesity prevention. The age of 35-39, and unemployment were found to be significantly associated with overweight/obesity prevention practices. Cost-effective health education focusing on women, physical activity and social support to reduce the socio-cultural constraints that promote overweight/obesity are necessary to combat this epidemic

A bean-based composite soup flour (CSF) containing red kidney beans, sweet potatoes, amaranth leaves, and carrots was developed using Nutrisurvey software to choose four nutritious CSFs, which were then subjected to sensory evaluation to select the most preferred CSF by mothers with young children. The top-ranked beanbased CSF was then analyzed for energy, proximate composition, and selected mineral/vitamin content. Additionally, swelling capacity, water and oil absorption capacity, emulsion activity/stability, foaming capacity/stability, gelatinization temperature, and least gelatinization concentration were determined. The optimum quality CSF was composed of 70% red kidney beans, 15% amaranth leaves, 10% sweet potatoes, and 5% carrots. The compositional and energy analysis showed that the selected CSF had 20.58% protein, 59% carbohydrates, 2.93% fat, 3.38% fiber, 8.95% moisture, 5.08% ash, and 344.9 kcal/100 g energy. The mineral and vitamins contents of CSF per 100 g were 216.2, 1.14, 3.83, and 32.83 mg for calcium, zinc, iron, and magnesium, respectively; 3.55 mg for vitamin A; and 166.36 mg vitamin C. Vitamins B2, B5, B6, B9, and B12 were 0.57, 3.53, 0.27, 0.07, and 0.02 mg/100 g, respectively. Functional properties determined were 31.5 ml (swelling capacity), 70.5% (water absorption capacity), 28% (oil absorption capacity), 25%, 18% (emulsion activity), 18% (emulsion stability), 15% (foam capacity), 33.4% (foam stability), 88.5 C (gelatinization temperature), and 10% (least gelation concentration). Consumption of the formulated CSF can nearly meet the dietary reference intake (DRI) of children aged 1-3 years in determined nutrients except for fiber. The developed bean-based CSF can be used to improve dietary diversity and reduce malnutrition especially for young children.