Formulation and Evaluation of Complementary Food from Sprouted Soybean, Breadfruit and Plantain Flour Blends Compared with Cerelac, a Commercial Counterpart

Abstract

Commercial complementary foods are relatively scarce, expensive and out of the reach of rural nursing mothers especially in developing countries resulting in weaker and sicker malnourished children. Formulation of complementary foods with economical locally available staples therefore becomes the best option. Proximate, functional, and sensory properties of the formulated complementary food were analyzed and compared with those of the Cerelac. Proximate results showed that moisture, protein, crude fiber, fat, ash, carbohydrate, and energy contents respectively ranged from 4.50-6.43%, 10.05-14.84%, 5.02-10.62%, 2.58-6.60%, 2.25-2.80%, 70.27-74.60%, and 312.78-387.20 Kcal. Respective Cerelac values were 5.12, 15.13, 4.33, 10.01, 2.68, 62.75% and 379.98 Kcal. Functional properties showed that bulk density, emulsion capacity, wettability, gelatinization temperature, water and oil absorption capacities ranged respectively from 0.33-0.37 g/ml, 39.59-41.08%, 9.50-21.00 sec, 62.00-64.00^oC, 1.63-2.10 g/g and 1.48-1.64 g/g with respective Cerelac values of 0.38 g/ml, 44.51%, 41.42 sec, 66.00^oC, 1.70 g/g and1.55 g/g. A complementary blend containing 25% soybean, 35% breadfruit, 40% plantain flour had no significant (P> 0.05) acceptability difference with the Cerelac which is the most preferred. An acceptable and nutritive complimentary food comparable to Cerelac can be produced from flour blends of breadfruit, plantain, and sprouted soybean.