Rat Bioassay for Evaluation of Protein Quality of Soy-Fortified Complementary Foods

Abstract

Compositing complementary flours with legumes of high protein quality such as soy can be effective in abating Protein Energy Malnutrition. Soy-fortified complementary flours were developed using locally available foods from Western Kenya and used to determine the fortification effect on protein nutritional quality, growth, and rehabilitation. Ten isonitrogenous diets containing 10% protein and one containing 20% protein were formulated from six foods; maize, pearl millet, finger millet, sorghum, cassava, and banana at ratios of 70:30 flour and soy with milk powder as control and fed to weanling male albino rats. Another group was fed on a protein free diet. Banana: Soy diet had significantly superior protein nutritional quality while Maize: soy had 70% Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score. True Protein Digestibility of the fortified diets lay within the acceptable margin for cereal: bean mixtures. Fortification with soy improved protein quality indices of flours in rats, and by extrapolation could support growth of young children if used as complementary foods.

Efficacy of compositing with snail meat powder on protein nutritional quality of sorghum–wheat buns using a rat bioassay

“…The rats fed an unfortified S‐WB diet showed a stagnated weight gain during the digestibility studies and at the end of the 28 days’ growth studies. It has been demonstrated that feeding rats on a pure maize meal diet only leads to weight loss and that rats fed on pure a sorghum biscuit diet did not gain any weight . Upon rehabilitation of rats previously fed on a basal diet with S‐WB fortified with 25% SMP, a steady increase in weight gain of up to 53% higher was obtained (Fig.…”

“…also demonstrated that rats fed on a sorghum biscuit diet produced between 52% and 62% higher faecal bulk than rats fed respectively on a casein and a sorghum–soy composite biscuit diet. It may be postulated that a high faecal bulk is attributed to a large amount of unabsorbed residue in the diet, which elicits increased faecal excretion . Rats fed on S‐WBs diets fortified with SMP produced comparable faecal weights, but these were significantly lower than those fed on an unfortified S‐WB diet (Table ).…”

“…Previous studies have used PDCAAS to make available data on the potential of complementary foods as protein sources. For instance, Kamau et al . established a PDCAAS score of 0.53 in a 100% maize meal diet that improved on fortification to 0.70.…”

Effect of soy fortification on the quality of Mkarango a traditional Kenyan fermented maize meal snack

“…Studies have demonstrated the improvement in protein quality of foods fortified with soybean and their positive impact on growth (Serrem, De Kock, & Taylor, 2011a; Serrem, De Kock, Oelofse, & Taylor, 2011b). Soybean flour has been used to fortify maize‐based foods with significant improvement in protein content and quality as shown by Kamau, Serrem, and Wamunga (2017). Adoption of suitable small‐scale technologies in community settings is also another suggested approach to production of low‐cost foods using locally available ingredients such as maize to meet the nutritional needs of children in developing countries (WHO, 2002).…”

Comparative study of innovative blends prepared by fortification of date powder to alleviate child malnutrition

“…It is established fact from earlier studies that better digestibility results in better assimilation and reduce the fecal nitrogen content by maximum retention of nitrogen in the body. The true digestibility can be enhanced by the addition of limiting amino acid in the test protein (Kamau, Serrem, & Wamunga, 2017; Mepba & Achinewhu, 2003). The biological value of test proteins means the ability of absorbed proportion of protein from the food to become part of the body for muscular development.…”