Development of a pre-cooked supplementary food using Palmyrah tuber

S Piratheepan,O D A N Perera,S Sangheetha,S Srivijeindran,C V L Jayasinghe

doi:10.4038/sljfa.v3i1.37

Abstract

Incorporation of legumes and tuber flours could improve the protein quality and energy content of traditional supplementary foods prepared mainly from cereals such as maize and sorghum in the developing countries. This study focused on developing a nutritious supplementary food using staple cereals, legumes and palmyrah tuber. “PalmyrahNutrimix” was formulated from the flour of cowpea, chickpea, sesame, green gram, soya bean and palmyrah tuber. Palmyrah tuber flour was obtained through tuber boiling, sun drying and milling process. Sugar and palmyrah tuber flour were optimized via 25 treatments. Sensory evaluation results revealed that three formulae consisting of sugar (19.4%) with different ratio of boiled and dried palmyrah tuber flour (15.9%, 18.2% and 20.3%) scored the highest mean rank sum (71.6), which complies with the Sri Lankan standards for energy (468.37 kcal/100g), protein (15.66%), fat (10.08%), fiber (4.75%) and carbohydrate (61.15%). The total phenolic content (61.0±2.0 mg gallic acid equivalent/100g) confirmed the positive functional properties of the product. Water activity of the product (0.46) assured the keeping quality of the supplementary food mix. Glycemic Index (GI) values of the product with sugar and without sugar were 64.00 ± 1.90 and 50.50 ± 1.26, respectively. Low GI value (50.50) showed that without sugar, product could be given to people with diabetes. The market survey conducted with 30 families indicated that they preferred “PalmyrahNutrimix”, which scored for sensory attributes better than market available products. Shelf life of the product was at acceptable level in both HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) and MPS (Metalized Polystyrene) packaging materials for a period of six months. This study concludes that “PalmyrahNutrimix” meets Sri Lankan standards as a supplementary food with sufficient consumer acceptability and keeping quality.

Highlights

In many developing countries, traditional supplementary foods are prepared mainly from cereals such as rice (Oryza sativa L), maize (Zea mays L), millets and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench], which are usually poor in protein quantity and quality, and supply around 50% of energy (NHMRC, 2003)
The main ingredients in both products is deficient in fat, fiber and other micronutrients such as phytochemicals (Jayatissa et al, 2012), which are available in the tuber flour of palmyrah (Borassus flabellifer L) and some locally available resources such as cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp], chickpea (Cicer arietinum L) and sesame (Sesamum indicum L)
Raw materials and chemicals Green gram (Vigna radiata), chickpea (Cicer arietinum), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.), sesame (Sesamum indicum), soya bean (Glycine max), sugar and whole milk powder were purchased from the local market in Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Summary

Introduction

Traditional supplementary foods are prepared mainly from cereals such as rice (Oryza sativa L), maize (Zea mays L), millets and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench], which are usually poor in protein quantity and quality, and supply around 50% of energy (NHMRC, 2003). It is desirable to study the ways and means of developing more nutritious supplementary foods with a higher energy content and improved protein quality. Considering the above facts this study was designed to develop a supplementary food “PalmyrahNutrimix”, by incorporating locally available grains and pulses i.e. cowpea, chickpea, green gram, sesame, sugar and palmyrah tuber flour in order to improve both nutrition and quality of the final product

Methodology

Results and Discussion

Conclusion