Nutritional and antioxidant content in complementary feeding from soybeans and dragon fruit peel

Abstract

Infants aged 6-24 months can be given complementary feeding to fulfil their nutritional needs. Giving complementary feeding on time can prevent infants from malnutrition. Malnutrition in the long term can increase the risk of stunting. The Indonesian government implements a malnutrition prevention program in the form of complementary feeding in infants. Complementary feeding can be made from a mixture of several food ingredients in order to obtain a product with high nutritional value. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the ingredient formulation on the nutritional and antioxidant content of complementary feeding from soybeans and dragon fruit peels. Complementary feeding was made from soybean powder, milk powder, dragon fruit peel extract and sugar. The research treatment was the ratio of soy powder and milk powder (1:1, 5:9, 9:5). The results showed that the ratio of soy powder and milk powder had an effect on the ash, protein, carbohydrates, vitamin C, total phenol and antioxidants, but had no effect on fat and moisture of complementary feeding. The complementary feeding contains 2.62-2.91% moisture, 15.51-15.60% fat, 4.28-5.05% ash, 16.28-20.60% protein, 58.62-61.00% carbohydrates, 27.91-35.30 mg/100 g vitamin C, 0.28-0.35% total phenol and 65.89- 68.02% antioxidants. Soybeans are a good source of protein to increase protein content in complementary feeding. In addition to protein, infants who malnutrition also need antioxidant to prevent inflammation. Antioxidants in complementary feeding formulas are obtained from several nutrients that have antioxidant activity such as vitamin C and phenols. Milk provides vitamin C, while phenols come from soybeans. The use of dragon fruit peel also contributes antioxidants derived from anthocyanin pigments and phenols. Additionally, the use of dragon fruit peel is able to cover the beany aroma of soybeans, provide red color and a thick texture.