The weaning period of an infant, which should begin from 7 months, is characterized by the gradual change from a liquid to a solid diet. After 6 months, the nutrients contained in breast milk are no longer sufficient to meet the growing demands of the infant. This is the ideal period for the introduction of a complementary food to make up for any deficiencies. To contribute to this situation, two groups, each consisting of five combinations of millet flour, enriched with cashew flour were formulated. The samples M100A0 (Unenriched millet flour), M92,5A7,5, M85A15, M77, 5A22,5 and M70A30 were enriched with 7.5%, 15%, 22,5% and 30% downgraded cashew flour, respectively. The samples MF100A0 (Unenriched fermented millet flour), MF92, 5A7,5, MF85A15, MF77, 5A22,5 and MF70A30 were constructed in a corresponding manner, the only difference being that the millet flour was fermented. After analyses of the different formulations, the best proportions of proteins were observed in MF70A30, MF77, 5A22, 5 and M70A30, which were 13.13%, 12.25% and 12.25%, respectively. Samples M70A30 and M77,5A22,5 exhibited the best iron contents of 8.44 ppm and 8.12 ppm, respectively. The protein contents of the unfortified samples M100A0 and MF100A0 were 7.53% and 6.13% respectively. Formulations MF70A30, M77,5A2,5 and M70A30 with levels of 1.06 ppm, 0.98 ppm and 0.98 ppm, respectively, gave the best zinc contents. The moisture contents of the formulated samples had minimal changes. They varied between 6.16 ± 0.06% and 7.6 ± 0.99% for unfermented samples, and between 6.35 ± 0.32% and 7.0 ± 0.02% for fermented samples. The humidity values of the two groups of samples were not significantly different at P≤0.05. These low moisture contents in the flours are important for better preservation. At the end of this study, certain formulations were selected because of their good nutritional profile. Thus the formulations M70A30 composed of 70% millet flour and 30% cashew flour and MF70A30 composed of 70% fermented millet flour and 30% cashew flour present the best options and could be used as quality infant flours. Key words : complementary food, infant, cashew kernel, weaning, millet flour
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.