Effect of Plant Hybridization on the Nutritional Composition of Dairy Milk

Abstract

Milk is a basic source of food for all mammals including man. It is the sole source of nourishment for all mammals in the first phase of life; however, there have been raising challenges associated with the consumption of milk such as allergies like lactose intolerance, and high cholesterol levels, resulting in the search for plant based alternatives and hybrids to ensure nutritional balance. Milk was produced from a composite of bovine milk and water extracts of tigernut (Cyperus Esculentus) and soybeans (Glycine max) at a 4:3:3 ratio, and evaluated to establish nutritional value. Proximate analysis showed a moisture content of 83.41%, ash content of 1.35%, fibre content of 1.12%, fat content of 2.91%, protein content of 13.02% and carbohydrate content of 12.34%. Anti-nutritional content was determined to be 0.83% for phytate, 0.01% for tannin, 0.01% for oxalate, 0.31% for saponin and 0.02% for lectin, while mineral composition (mg/100ml) was determined to be 28.48 for calcium, 9.41 for magnesium, 3.97 for sodium, 2.42 for iron, 8.13 for potassium and 2.86 for zinc. The hybrid milk was determined to be nutritionally balanced.