The effects of starter fermentation on the nutritional qualities of maize-tigernut fortified weaning foods were investigated. The dry-milled, malted maize grains fortified with dry-milled roasted tigernut flours (70:30) were subjected to 48 hrs of spontaneous and starter fermentation (singly and as combined starters). Nutritional, sensory characteristics and feeding trials of the weaning foods were evaluated. Four fermented weaning blends were formulated: FMT (spontaneously fermented maize-tigernut), SFMT1 ( Lactobacillus plantarum F2C fermented maize-tigernut), SFMT2 ( Lactobacillus plantarum U2A fermented maize-tigernut) and SFMT3 (combined starter-fermented maize-tigernut). SFMT2 had the highest crude protein, fat, fibre, ash and least carbohydrate content among the blends. The highest energy content (456.84 Kcal/100 g) was observed in blend SMFT2 which was also higher than that of both negative (Nutrend) and positive (Conventional animal feed) controls. The least antinutrient and vitamin contents were recorded in SFMT2. Blend SFMT1 had the highest Vitamin B1 (0.67 mg/100 g), Vitamin A (472.60 ug/100 g), phosphorus (75.45 mg/100 g) and zinc (1.05 mg/100 g) contents while the highest calcium (17.17 mg/100 g) and iron (22.82 mg/100 g) were recorded in SFMT2. Sample SFMT2 was rated the highest in all of the sensory characteristics except colour and the highest overall acceptability (6.00) which was not different significantly from all other starter produce blends. Biological evaluation showed blend SFMT2 fed animals having the highest weight by 28 days (73.14 g), mean weight gain (5.46 g), mean feed intake (18.71 g) and mean protein efficiency ratio PER (3.65). However, all the PER values including that of controls (2.30) were higher than the value of 2.10 recommended by the Protein Advisory Group (PAG) for complementary foods. The RBC, WBC and PCV of the trial groups were within the rat hematologic reference ranges. Blend SFMT2 (L. plantarum U2A fermented blend) gave the best performance after rat feeding trials.
The arrival of a new born is accompanied by the secretion of the highly nutritive, thick yellowish pre-milk substance, referred to as colostrum. The colostrum contains the very essential nutrients as well as antibodies and it helps in boosting the immunity of the infant to infections [
The breast milk alone remains sufficient for an infant up until the sixth months after birth. Its supply of energy, protein, vitamin A and B6 as well as calcium, meets the requirements of the infant, it is however clear that the breast-milk is insufficient in its supply of vitamin D, iron and zinc [
The digestibility of the weaning food and the absorption capacity of the gastrointestinal tract are some of the factors that determine how efficient the contributions of the foods are to the overall health, growth and development of the infants [
Traditional weaning foods of West Africa are mostly based on the family staple foods which include cereals, starchy tubers, legumes and vegetables [
There have been several approaches aimed at addressing the challenges associated with the infants’ consumption of the traditional weaning foods. These include the use of processing steps such as fermentation, malting, liquefaction, dry-milling, cereal-legume co-fermentation, fortification with selected additives while adhering to guidelines and regulations, addition of sugar and oil to cereal gruels as well as hygienic processing [
Supplementation of maize with legumes such as cowpea, Bambara-nut and soy-bean, has been reported to contribute significantly to the improvement of the protein content of the cereal based foods [
Suwan-1, a variety of Maize grain (Zea mays) used in this study was obtained from the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR & T), Moor plantation, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Tigernut (Cyperus esculentus) was purchased from Bodija market, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.
Pure cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum F2C and Lactobacillus plantarum U2A were obtained from the Industrial and Biotechnology laboratory of the Department of Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Oyo state. The cultures of L. plantarum strains were routinely maintained on de Man Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) agar slant at 4˚C.
The Maize grains (Zea mays) were sorted manually to remove dirt, stones, broken or moldy grains, washed and steeped in distilled water (1:3 w/v) at ambient temperature for 18 hrs. The steeped grains were malted and germination was halted by oven drying at 80˚C to 10% moisture. The root and shoot portions were removed and malted grains were dry milled to a fine particle size using a sterile blender (Philips kenwood, UK) followed by sieving to obtain a finer particle size flour.
Tigernut tubers (Cyperus esculentus) were sorted to remove stones, pebbles, dirt, damaged tubers and other extraneous materials followed by thorough washing in series of clean water to remove adhering soils. The cleaned tubers were then drained, dried and roasted in an oven at 85˚C for 24 hrs. The burnt tubers were removed and the rest of the bulk was dry milled into flour and sieved to obtain fine flour.
Blend formulation (maize-tigernut in a ratio of 70:30) was carried out by the method of Malleshi et al. [
The formulation was subjected to spontaneous fermentation at 30˚C ± 2˚C for 48 hours and also to starter fermentation using 108 cfu/ml pure cultures of starter singly and in combination [
The proximate analysis of moisture content, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre and ash were determined by the methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists [
Energy value ( KCal / 1 00 g ) = ( carbohydrate × 4 ) + ( fat × 9 ) + ( protein × 4 )
The anti nutrients that were determined include tannin, oxalate and phytic acid. Tannin content was determined spectrophotometrically by the method of AOAC [
Thiamine (Vitamin B1), riboflavin (Vitamin B2), and (Vitamin A) were determined by the methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists [
The method of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists [
Sensory attributes of the best four fermented weaning foods were assessed by 15 untrained panelists of nursing mothers in Kajorepo community, Akinyele local government, Ibadan, Oyo state using the method described by Wakil and Alao [
Animal feed experiment was carried out using male albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) of weaning age (three to four weeks old and with weight varying between 18 - 34 g) in order to carry out an assessment of the nutritional quality of the formulated weaning food and the overall health effect of the formulated weaning diet.
The four (4) formulations were used as feeding diet while Nutrend (a commercial weaning food brand) fed treatment group of the albino rats served as a negative control and a group fed with the commercial conventional diets of the rats served as positive control.
Animal ExperimentTwenty-four (24) young male albino rats of weaning age procured were randomly distributed into groups based on the experimental diet formulations to be used. The animals were kept in standard cages and subjected to the same environmental conditions. Each group comprised of four (4) rats per cage making a total of six (6) experimental groups. The rats were allowed to acclimatize for a period of one week before commencement of feeding with the experimental diets and the trials was carried out within duration of 28 days. Data were collected to determine the feed intake, body weight changes, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) using the method of Addass et al. [
All the data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the mean separated by Duncan’s multiple test range using the Gen Stat Software.
Group | Experimental Diet | Moisture % | Protein % | Fat % | Fibre % | Ash % | Carbohydrate % | Energy KCal/100 g |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | FMT | 6.71 ± 0.01b+* | 7.95 ± 0.07d | 9.19 ± 0.01d | 4.36 ± 0.03d | 0.79 ± 0.01f | 75.25 ± 0.08c | 415.92 ± 0.12d |
2 | SFMT1 | 1.40 ± 0.03f | 8.03 ± 0.07d | 10.51 ± 0.01c | 3.78 ± 0.01e | 1.31 ± 0.02d | 78.75 ± 0.13a | 441.68 ± 0.17b |
3 | SFMT2 | 3.42 ± 0.02c | 8.39 ± 0.07c | 15.21 ± 0.01a | 4.56 ± 0.02c | 1.38 ± 0.01c | 71.59 ± 0.06d | 456.84 ± 0.04a |
4 | SFMT3 | 3.32 ± 0.01d | 8.25 ± 0.07c | 10.68 ± 0.02b | 2.57 ± 0.02f | 1.25 ± 0.00e | 76.50 ± 0.09b | 435.14 ± 0.06c |
5 | Nutrend | 2.50 ± 0.02e | 15.00 ± 0.02a | 9.00 ± 0.02e | 7.00 ± 0.02b | 2.30 ± 0.02b | 64.20 ± 0.02f | 398.00 ± 0.02e |
6 | CAF | 8.90 ± 0.01a | 13.98 ± 0.03b | 5.48 ± 0.01f | 8.41 ± 0.01a | 3.20 ± 0.00a | 68.43 ± 0.03e | 379.00 ± 0.08f |
*Mean ± standard error based on three replicates. +Means within the same column with different superscript are significantly different at P ≤ 0.05. Key: FMT:- spontaneously fermented maize-tigernut blend, diet supplied to group 1; SFMT1: -maize-tigernut blend fermented using Lactobacillus plantarum F2C supplied to group 2; SFMT2: -maize-tigernut blend fermented using Lactobacillus plantarum U2A supplied to group 3; SFMT3: -maize-tigernut blend fermented using combined starter supplied to group 4; Nutrend: -commercial weaning food (group 5); CAF: -conventional animal feed (group 6).
10.68% crude fat, 1.25% ash, 76.50% carbohydrate and the least (2.57%) content of crude fibre.
Group 5 weaning diet (Nutrend) was observed to contain 2.50% moisture, 9.00% fat, 7.00% fibre, 2.3% ash, the least (64.20%) carbohydrate content and the highest protein content (15.00%) among the experimental weaning diets. The proximate composition of the experimental diet for group6 (CAF; conventional animal feed) also revealed to be made up of 8.90% moisture, 13.98% crude protein, 5.48% crude fat, 8.41% crude fibre, 3.20% ash and 68.43% carbohydrate. Among the experimental diets, the weaning diet supply of group six had the highest moisture and ash contents but the least energy content of 379.00 KCal/100 g. Statistical analysis revealed that differences observed in the moisture, crude fat, ash, carbohydrate and energy contents of all the experimental diets were significantly different at P ≤ 0.05. Statistical analysis also showed that FMT and SFMT1, and SFMT2 and SFMT3 diets were not significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) from each other in terms of protein contents but differ significantly from group 5 (CAF) and group 6 (Nutrend) diets.
The unfermented samples (UMT) had the least phytate (0.226%) and oxalate (0.104%) contents while least tannin content (0.028%) was observed for SFMT3 (
Sample code | Phytate | Oxalate | Tannin |
---|---|---|---|
UMT | 0.226 ± 0.009d | 0.104 ± 0.002e | 0.042 ± 0.001a |
FMT | 0.266 ± 0.002ab | 0.207 ± 0.001a | 0.042 ± 0.001a |
SFMT1 | 0.262 ± 0.005b | 0.204 ± 0.001b | 0.039 ± 0.002b |
SFMT2 | 0.236 ± 0.002c | 0.188 ± 0.001d | 0.036 ± 0.002c |
SFMT3 | 0.269 ± 0.002a | 0.193 ± 0.002c | 0.028 ± 0.002d |
Mean ± standard error based on duplicate values. Means within the same column with different superscript are significantly different using Duncans multiple range test at p < 0.05. Sample code as in
Sample code | Vitamin B1 (mg/100 g) | Vitamin B2 (mg/100 g) | Vitamin A (ug/100 g) |
---|---|---|---|
UMT | 0.52 ± 0.02c+* | 0.10 ± 0.01d | 452.75 ± 0.25e |
FMT | 0.84 ± 0.02a | 0.28 ± 0.01a | 467.70 ± 0.10b |
SFMT1 | 0.67 ± 0.02b | 0.18 ± 0.01b | 472.60 ± 0.10a |
SFMT2 | 0.58 ± 0.01c | 0.14 ± 0.01c | 460.00 ± 0.20d |
SFMT3 | 0.63 ± 0.04b | 0.20 ± 0.01b | 464.05 ± 0.25c |
*Mean ± standard error based on duplicate values. +Means within the same column with different superscript are significantly different using Duncans multiple range test at P ≤ 0.05.
µg/100 g, 0.58 mg/100 g and 0.14 mg/100 g respectively was recorded for blend SFMT2. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) in the vitamin contents of the maize-tigernut blends.
Sample code | Phosphorus | Calcium | Magnesium | Iron | Zinc |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UMT | 78.33 ± 0.21a | 16.23 ± 0.08b | 2.70 ± 0.10a | 13.53 ± 0.07c | 0.64 ± 0.01c |
FMT | 59.57 ± 0.07d | 17.20 ± 0.05a | 2.75 ± 0.04a | 17.27 ± 0.08b | 0.81 ± 0.02b |
SFMT1 | 75.45 ± 0.05b | 15.38 ± 0.07c | 2.47 ± 0.01b | 17.28 ± 0.06b | 1.05 ± 0.04a |
SFMT2 | 73.67 ± 0.69c | 17.17 ± 0.07a | 2.40 ± 0.03b | 22.82 ± 0.06a | 0.76 ± 0.05b |
SFMT3 | 74.42 ± 0.08c | 14.05 ± 0.05d | 1.57 ± 0.03c | 13.70 ± 0.03c | 0.59 ± 0.04c |
*Mean ± standard error based on duplicate values.
Sample code | Color | Texture | Taste | Flavor | Overall acceptability |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
FMT | 5.30 ± 0.213a | 4.50 ± 0.167b | 4.00 ± 0.258b | 4.80 ± 0.20c | 4.30 ± 0.26b |
SFMT1 | 5.60 ± 0.16a | 4.70 ± 0.15b | 5.60 ± 0.16a | 6.30 ± 0.23a | 5.60 ± 0.16a |
SFMT2 | 5.60 ± 0.16a | 5.40 ± 0.16a | 6.10 ± 0.18a | 6.30 ± 0.26a | 6.00 ± 0.14a |
SFMT3 | 5.90 ± 0.23a | 5.20 ± 0.20a | 5.70 ± 0.21a | 5.60 ± 0.16b | 5.50 ± 0.17a |
*Mean ± standard error based on ten replicates.
Experimental weaning diet | Initial weight (g) | Weight at day 28 (g) | mean weight gain (g) | Mean feed intake (g) | Mean FCR | Mean PER |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FMT | 24.65 ± 1.28a | 66.77 ± 0.35c | 4.64 ± 0.43a | 17.16 ± 0.89a | 4.22 ± 0.66a | 3.40 ± 0.31ab |
SFMT1 | 26.64 ± 1.07a | 70.41 ± 0.94d | 4.92 ± 0.76a | 17.94 ± 1.26a | 5.42 ± 1.63a | 3.42 ± 0.54ab |
SFMT2 | 24.00 ± 0.47a | 73.14 ± 0.62c | 5.46 ± 0.74a | 18.71 ± 1.06a | 4.27 ± 0.83a | 3.65 ± 0.51a |
SFMT3 | 25.80 ± 1.41a | 71.89 ± 0.38cd | 5.16 ± 0.48a | 18.69 ± 0.96a | 4.28 ± 0.71a | 3.36 ± 0.31ab |
Nutrend | 26.21 ± 0.46a | 87.21 ± 0.50a | 6.77 ± 0.80a | 19.49 ± 1.08a | 3.31 ± 0.48a | 2.29 ± 0.25b |
CAF | 25.20 ± 0.88a | 79.48 ± 0.74b | 6.09 ± 0.71a | 18.39 ± 1.29a | 3.42 ± 0.42a | 2.30 ± 0.32b |
Mean ± standard error based on three replicates. Means within the same column with different superscript are significantly different using Duncans multiple range test at p < 0.05. Key: FCR: -Feed Conversion Ratio; PER: -Protein Efficiency Ratio; CAF: -Conventional Available Feed.
Experimental diet Group | Red blood cell (RBC) ×106/mm3 | White blood cell (WBC) ×103/mm3 | Packed cell volume (PCV) % |
---|---|---|---|
FMT | 8.75 ± 0.25ab+* | 6.78 ± 0.09bc | 38.67 ± 0.33b |
SFMT1 | 9.50 ± 0.12a | 6.90 ± 0.06ab | 34.67 ± 0.67c |
SFMT2 | 8.83 ± 0.33ab. | 7.03 ± 0.03ab | 40.00 ± 0.58b |
SFMT3 | 6.95 ± 0.06d | 7.03 ± 0.09ab | 38.33 ± 1.20b |
Nutrend | 7.78 ± 0.32c | 7.22 ± 0.12a | 43.00 ± 0.58a |
CAF | 8.17 ± 0.23bc | 6.44 ± 0.21c | 39.33 ± 0.88b |
Rat Haematologic reference ranges | 6.76 - 9.75 | 6.6 - 12.6 | 37.6 - 50.6 |
*Mean ± standard error based on triplicate values. +Means within the same column with different superscript are significantly different using Duncans multiple range test at P ≤ 0.05.
well as the blend fermented using combined starter (SFMT3), with a value of 7.03 × 103/mm3 while the least WBC (6.78 × 103/mm3) was recorded for the group fed with the spontaneously fermented blend (FMT). Statistical analysis of the white blood cell count showed that SFMT1, SFMT2 and SFMT3 fed groups were not significantly different (p < 0.05) from each other but were significantly different from FMT, Nutrend and Conventional animal fed groups.
The least packed cell volume (PCV) value of 34.67% and highest value of 40.00% were observed in the groups fed with sample SFMT1 and sample SFMT2 respectively. Packed cell volume (PCV) of group one (FMT), group three (SFMT2), group four (SFMT3) and group six (conventional animal feed) were not significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) from each other but different from the PCV of group two (SFMT1) and group five (Nutrend). Generally, the RBC, WBC and PCV of the trial groups were within the rat haematologic reference ranges.
The observed lower moisture contents of the fermented products will improve the storage period or keeping quality of the product because low moisture content would prevent the growth of mould and reduce moisture dependant biochemical reactions [
The higher mineral contents recorded in the SFMT2 sample could be of nutritional advantage to the weaning infants as minerals play important roles in body metabolism. The high calcium contents helps in the regulation of muscle contractions and transmission of nerve impulses, bone and teeth development [
The improvement in organoleptic properties observed with the use of starter fermentation is similar to the report of Wakil and Kazeem [
The animal group fed with SFMT2 had the highest weight by 28 days (73.14 g), mean weight gain (5.46 g), mean feed intake (18.71 g) and mean protein efficiency ratio, PER (3.65). However, all the PER values including that of controls (2.30) were higher than the value of 2.10 recommended by the Protein Advisory Group (PAG) for complementary foods. The higher PER and FCR values of fermented food products could be due to utilization of the increased protein and micronutrients from the tigernut supplement by the experimental animals. An observations similar with earlier reports of significant increase in PER in rats as a result of improved nutritional composition [
In Conclusion, blend SFMT2 (L. plantarum U2A fermented blend) has higher nutritional contents and gives the best performance after rat feeding trials, therefore, can be used as starter in weaning food development.
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Wakil, S.M. and Ola, J.O. (2018) Development of Maize-Tigernut Fortified Weaning Food Using Starter Cultures. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 9, 1444-1457. https://doi.org/10.4236/fns.2018.912105