Nutritive value and sensory acceptability of corn- and kocho- based foods supplemented with legumes for infant feeding in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

In most developing countries, complementary foods are based on staple cereal or root crops. Imported or commercially developed foods generally are not used by low-income rural households due to high cost and poor availability. To improve the quality of children's diets in Southern Ethiopia, two complementary foods were formulated based on corn, or on an indigenous root crop (Enset ventricosum) product called kocho. Kidney beans and pumpkin pulp were used to improve the protein and vitamin A values, respectively. Kidney beans and corn were soaked, germinated and lightly roasted before grinding. Four formulations of complementary foods were prepared. Two of them were traditional corn-or kocho-based, and served as controls. The other two were supplemented formulations, and contained either corn:kidney bean:pumpkin (CBP) or kocho:kidney bean:pumpkin (KBP). Crude protein and fat, amino acid profile, and carotene content of the corn, kocho, kidney bean, and pumpkin were determined by standard AOAC methods. The four formulations were evaluated for sensory acceptability in Southern Ethiopia by mother and child pairs. The CBP and KBP formulations had crude protein contents of 14.07 g/100 g and 13.81 g/100 g, respectively, while the traditional corn and kocho had only 8.82 g/100 g and 1.46 g/100 g, on a dry weight basis. Adding kidney beans to both mixtures improved their essential amino acid profiles, but the need to serve the foods as thin porridge for infants created low energy density products. The pumpkin in CBP and KBP provided 54 µg RAE per 100 kcal, increasing the Vitamin A value of the mixes by 25-and 180-fold, respectively. Sensory evaluation of CBP by 30 mother and child pairs, and KBP by 28 pairs indicated high acceptability (4.7-4.9 on a 5-pt Hedonic scales) of the complementary foods. Acceptability scores of CBP and KBP were not significantly different (p > 0.05) from those of the traditional corn and kocho formulations. Thus, addition of kidney beans and pumpkin is a potential way to increase the nutritive value of traditional Ethiopian complementary foods prepared from corn or kocho.

Physicochemical Properties and Effect of Processing Methods on Mineral Composition and Antinutritional Factors of Improved Chickpea(Cicer arietinum L.)Varieties Grown in Ethiopia

“…In Ethiopia, the use of chickpea grains for human food has long history and they are used in different forms as green vegetable (green immature seed), “Kolo” (soaked and roasted), “nifro” (boiled seeds), and “wot” (sauces) made up of “shiro” (powdered seeds) or blended with cereals and/or legumes for preparing of infant and young children foods using traditional food processing techniques like soaking, germination, fermentation, boiling, and roasting. For preparation of infant and young children at certain community, bioavailability of macro- and micronutrients like protein, Fe, and Zn is critical beside sensory acceptability, cost for purchasing, and processing and preparing using local food items [7].…”

Effects of blending ratio variation on macronutrient compositions and sensory acceptability of dabi teff‐field pea‐based novel composite complementary flours

“…The complementary feeding time (6–24 months of age) is one of the critical times in a child's life when the children transfer from breast milk to complementary feeding because the breast milk cannot satisfy the child's developing nutritional needs after 6 months (Rasane et al., 2015 ) and the infant's transfer from an ideal, nutritious, adequate, and uncontaminated breast milk to complementary foods (often regular family food) (Muhimbula & Issa‐Zacharia, 2010 ). FAO/WHO underscored that complementary foods should not replace (but complement) breastfeeding (Abebe et al., 2006 ; FAO/WHO, 1991 ).…”

Energy, protein and iron densities of dabi teff-field pea-based optimised novel complementary flour and its contribution to daily energy and nutrients demand by 6–23-month-old children

“…Infants and young children need adequate energy and a nutrient-dense diet both through exclusive breast-feeding followed by quality complementary feeding ( 1 , 2 , 10 ) . In the first 6 months after birth, breast milk is adequate for energy and nutrient requirements by infants ( 2 ) after which the milk is no longer sufficient and children transfer from ideal and uncontaminated breast milk to poor-quality complementary foods (often regular family food) with the highest chance of vulnerability to malnutrition and infectious diseases ( 11 , 12 ) .…”