Abstract:
Cereals-based complementary foods are commonly used in resource poor settings in
developing countries. However, they are characterized by poor nutritional quality both in
terms of macro and micro nutrients. This study, aimed to develop nutritionally enriched and
sensorial accepted QPM based complementary food from locally available food sources.
Seventeen formulations of the composite flours were prepared using D-optimal mixture
design with the aid of, Design-Expert software version 8.0 with a range for QPM 45-85%,
Anchote 10-20%, Carrot 5-15% and Soybean 0-20%. Standard methods were used to conduct
chemical analysis and sensory evaluation of the complementary foods. The major response
variables of nutritional composition, anti-nutritional factors, and functional (Physical)
proprieties and sensory acceptability of formulations after cooking were investigated. Results
showed that a significant difference (P<0.05) in protein, fat, carbohydrate, energy, beta
carotene, Calcium and tannin content of porridge prepared from different blending ratio of
ingredients. Protein, carbohydrate , calorie , β-carotene, Calcium, Iron and Zinc content of
the porridge ranged from 10.25-19.01%, 58.05-70.32%, 368.38-398.7 kcal/100g, 1165-
2215μg/100g, 101.69-204.80 mg/100g, 5-6.99mg/100g and 2.205- 3.250 mg/100g. Increasing
trend was observed in the protein content of the complementary food with an increase in the
proportion of soybean. There is an increasing trend in the β-carotene content of the porridge
with an increasing proportion of carrot. Results also indicate that an increase in the
proportion of Anchote flour in the composite flour resulted in parallel increase in the Calcium
content of porridge. Increasing trend was observed in the carbohydrate content of the
complementary food with an increase in the proportion of QPM and Anchote flour. Results
also indicated that an increase in the proportion of QPM flour and Anchote flour resulted in
parallel increase in the phytate and tannin contents. Sensory evaluation results showed that
the mean score of overall acceptability ranged between, 3-4.78. The optimized proportions
for that above results were QPM (55%), Anchote (10%), Carrot (15%) and Soybean (20%)
blending ratios. Overall, it can be concluded that locally available and low cost food
ingredients used in the present study have good potential to develop complementary foods
with enhanced nutritional value and sensorial acceptability for resource-poor households.
