Enhancing nutritional density and quality of banana-soy based complementary diet through substitution with sesame

Abstract

Although Uganda is well endowed with adequate food supplies, more than one third of the children under the age of five are malnourished and 60% of all deaths of children
under five years of age are directly or indirectly attributable to malnutrition. The causes
of this public health problem in Uganda are complex and multidisciplinary, but poor
quality and quantity of foods given to children play a major role. In this study, we
conducted a rat feeding trial experiment in order to explore the potential of a banana-soy
based diet optimally incorporated with sesame as a complementary diet to support growth
of children. The study applied sensory evaluation and rat feeding trial experiments to
investigate the optimum level of sesame incorporation in an earlier formulated bananasoy
diet and as well explore the nutritional value of the final diet. Crude protein, ash and
energy contents of the formulations were determined using AOAC methods. Data were
analyzed using GenStat 5 Release 3.2. Nutrient and energy composition was compared
using ANOVA and PER was compared using t-test. Results showed that a mixture of
67% banana, 16.5% soybean and 16.5% sesame flours produced a blend whose
proximate analysis, PER and sensory evaluation studies had satisfactory nutritional
quality, quantity and optimum organoleptic attributes. There was a high nutritional
quality attained when soy and sesame flours were mixed in equal proportions. Therefore
optimum incorporation of soybean and sesame in banana based complementary diets not
only greatly enhances nutrient density and quality of these diets but also their
organoleptic attributes. Feeding children these diets could break the cycle of childhood
malnutrition through reduced feeding of starchy gruels that have low energy and protein
contents or with undesirable sensory properties. The mixture is also easy to prepare at
community level and may be adequate for catch up growth among children recovering
from malnutrition.

Keywords: Malnutrition, Nutrient Density, Optimization, complementary

AJFAND Vol. 8 (1) 2008 pp. 104-117