Nutrient Content of Traditional Foods Prepared from Yellow Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) Varieties in Ethiopia

Abstract

Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) is one of the most important cereal grains for both human food and livestock feed. Ethiopia is among the major maize producers in Africa and ranked fourth next to South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt. Maize production takes significant share of cereals and grain in any production year. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutrient availability of traditional foods prepared from maize varieties (BHQPY545, BH661, Melkasa-1Q and Melkasa-7). HPLC and AAS methods were used to determine beta-carotene and menial contents, respectively. AOAC methods were used to analyze the proximate composition. The results showed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in most proximate compositions of the 4 maize varieties. Total carbohydrate between maize varieties ranged from 72.39 to 74.08%, crude fiber (2.19 to 2.23%), crude protein (6.61 to 10.52%), crude fat (3.72 to 5.19%), ash (1.07 to 1.34%), and moisture (9.91 to 12.04%). The products of maize varieties (stiff porridge and flat bread) did not have any significant effect on the crude fiber, crude protein, and ash. Beta-carotene content in BHQMY545 maize was found to be 2.33±0.12, 2.72 ± 0.06 and 2.46±0.51µg/g for raw, stiff porridge and unleavened flat bread, respectively. In four maize types, there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in crude fat, calcium, potassium. In general, there is no need to select processing methods because the nutritional makeup of maize types retains better after processing.