Amino acids in enteral formula based on local fermented food for children with protein energy malnutrition

Abstract

Protein-energy malnutrition still becomes a problem in the world and Indonesia. The enteral formula is needed in the process of fulfilling overall nutrition in the form of a liquid diet in malnourished patients to digest and absorb nutrients without any difficulties. Amino acid lysine, methionine, cysteine, threonine, and tryptophan are often deficits in children's food; even, malnourished children (stunting, wasting, or protein-energy malnutrition) have decreased amino acids. Tempeh gembus, fermented local food, is used as the main ingredient for the enteral formula, and the hydrolysate process is carried out and made into flour, resulting in more amino acids due to the process of protein breakdown. The making of enteral formula from local food fermentation aims to enable the community to optimize local food into more nutritious food so that it can be produced at the household scale. Other supplementary ingredients are isolated soy protein, pumpkin flour, maltodextrin, sugar, and soybean oil. The enteral formula is isocaloric and isoprotein; it is divided into two with different compositions of the hydrolysate of Tempeh gembus flour. This study aims to determine the content of protein, amino acids, and limiting amino acids in the enteral formula. The amino acid analysis was performed using the HPLC method. Amino acid glutamate has the highest content in enteral formulas A and B (2,080 mg.100g-1and 1,950 mg.100g-1). The total amino acid content of enteral formula A is higher than that of enteral formula B with a difference of 210 mg.100g-1. Enteral formula A has a higher average amino acid content (1,400 mg.100g-1) than enteral formula B (1,378 mg.100g-1), and there is no significant difference (p = 0.812) between them. The enteral formula A has a higher amino acid content, but the highest protein content is in enteral formula B. The limiting amino acids in enteral formulas A and B are the methionine amino acids. Enteral formulas A and B can fulfill the needs of amino acids and be an alternative formula for Children with PEM.