EVALUATION OF NUTRIENT COMPOSITION AND NUTRITIONAL EFFICACY OF CEREAL AND LEGUME BASED COMPLEMENTARY FOODS IN RAT

Abstract

Infants require adequate Complementary Food (CF) from six months when breastfeeding alone becomes inadequate to satisfy their nutritional needs. In Nigeria, popular CF is cereal-gruel with low nutrient-density, which is implicated as a major cause of child under-nutrition. Several local cereal-legumes based and commercial CFs are available in Nigeria, however, locally available popcorn, African Locust Beans (ALB) and Bambara groundnut (BG) combination have not been used as CF. This study was designed to formulate CFs using these seeds, evaluate nutrient compositions and nutritional efficacy using Wister rat model. The study was experimental in design using popcorn, ALB and BG as the experimental food samples, while Cerelac and Ogi were the control and basal diet respectively. Fifty-six Wister rats were purchased from Central Animal House, University of Ibadan and divided into eight groups of seven rats each. Six diets were formulated from processed seed flour after home-based germination and fermentation techniques using NutriSurvey-Linear-Programming Software as: Germinated-Popcorn-ALB (GPA) (70:30), Germinated-Popcorn-BG (GPB) (70:30), Germinated-Popcorn-ALB-Bambara groundnut (GPAB) (70:15:15), Fermented-Popcorn-ALB (FPA) (70:30), Fermented-Popcorn-BG (FPB) (70:30) and Fermented-Popcorn-ALB-Bambara groundnut (FPAB) (70:15:15). Formulated CFs, basal diet and control were analysed with standard methods for proximate, minerals, amino acids, anti-nutrients and microbial loads. Anthropometric measurements (weight and length), protein digestibility and heamatological indices of rats fed with formulated CFs, basal diet and control were determined using standard methods. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Duncan’s multiple range test at p=0.05. Protein content (g/100g) in germinated and fermented CFs ranged from 23.9±1.5 in GPA to 28.8±1.0 in GPAB and 20.5±1.1 in FPA to 26.9±1.1 in FPAB, while energy (kcal) ranged from 444.1±2.5 in GPAB to 444.5±1.1 in GPB and 441.4±3.1 in FPA to 464.9±1.2 in FPAB; and were significantly higher than control. Germinated CF were higher in potassium, sodium, calcium, iron and copper, while fermented CFs were higher in phosphorous, magnesium and zinc, and were significantly lower than in Cerelac. Total essential amino acids (g/100g protein) ranged from 62.7 in GPAB to 76.5 in GPA and 52.1 in FPA to 58.9 in FPB, which were lower than in Cerelac (91.1). Oxalate, tannin, phytate and trypsin inhibitors concentrations were higher in germinated CFs than fermented CFs; and were not significantly different from control. The formulated CFs microbial loads ranged between 1.95x102 in germinated CFs and 2.27x104 cfu/g in fermented CFs. Biological values ranged from 51.4% in GPA to 59.3% in GPAB, 41.2% in FPA to 60.2% in FPAB, 10.0% in Ogi and 70.4% in Cerelac for germinated, fermented and control CF respectively. The weight gain of the wistar rats fed with the formulated CFs ranged from 17.5g in GPB to 27.8g in FPAB and was lower than those in Cerelac group (38.8g). Packed cell volume, haemoglobin, red blood cells and white blood cells of rats fed with formulated CFs or control diet were not significantly different. Fermented complementary foods, especially Fermented-popcorn-African locust bean-Bambara groundnut, were more efficacious and energy-dense than germinated CFs or ‘Ogi’, but less efficacious than Cerelac. The complementary foods compared favourably well with Cerelac.

Keywords: Nutrient composition, Formulated complementary foods, Cereal-legume based, Wistar rats.

Word Count: 499