Complementary Foods For Young Children Research Articles

Lactococci dominate the bacterial communities of fermented maize, sorghum and millet slurries in Zimbabwe

Maize, sorghum and millet fermented porridges are important as complementary foods for young children in Africa. The objective of the present study was to gain some insights into the bacterial communities of fermented slurries prepared from maize, sorghum and millets originating from different locations in Zimbabwe, and prepared either at household or laboratory level. A deep sequencing approach targeting the hypervariable V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was used and yielded about 100,000 sequences per sample. Lactococcus dominated all the fermented slurries, flanked by other lactic acid bacteria such as Weissella, Leuconostoc and Enterococcus. Enterobacteriaceae detected in the water samples persisted throughout all the fermented cereals. Other sub-dominant bacteria identified in the fermented slurries included Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and Acinetobacter. In addition, some Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes associated with the raw materials and environment were also detected. Fermented slurries could not be differentiated based on their origin nor on the type of fermentation, but clear differences were observed between red sorghum fermented slurries and fermented slurries prepared from other cereal flours. A thorough understanding of the functional capacities of the microbiota in African fermented slurries is highly needed in order to steer the fermentation for the production of standard, safe and nutritious fermented products.

Fortified food supplementation in children with reduced dietary energy and micronutrients intake in Southern Mexico

BackgroundNutritional supplements are an important source of complementary food for young children, since they may either complement or substitute nutrients obtained from other food sources. Assessing how the introduction of different types of supplements modifies the consumption of other food sources may help in designing supplementation programs that aim to improve the nutrition of vulnerable populations.The objetive is to quantify dietary energy and nutrient intake among children aged 6–12 months who received one of three nutritional supplements.MethodsA cluster-randomized trial was conducted from 2005 to 2007. Urban communities were randomly allocated to one of three intervention groups receiving one of the following: a milk-based fortified food, micronutrient powders, or syrup. Each supplement was fortified with equal amounts of micronutrients. Dietary intake was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to reflect the average consumption over the month prior to the interview. Children between 6 and 12 months of age were recruited. Median regression was performed with adjusted standard errors for clustered data, and the linear predictors for the median included the study group, study stage and their interaction. Adjusted medians by study group and study stage were obtained as post-estimations.ResultsNo statistically significant differences between study groups were observed at baseline. After four months of supplementation, the children in the fortified food group had a smaller increase in median dietary energy (183.7 kcal, CI95%: 59.9, 307.5) and dietary protein (6.6 g, CI95%: 2.6, 10.6) intake from their home diet than those in the syrup group (p < 0.05). These differences remained significant after adjusting for group differences at baseline. Regarding covariate-adjusted median changes from baseline to follow-up at 10 months, the children in the fortified food group had a smaller median increase in dietary energy intake than those in the syrup group (698 vs 915 kcal), with a difference of 217.9 kcal (CI95%: 20.4, 415.4).ConclusionChildren in the fortified food group consumed less dietary energy, protein, and micronutrients than those in the micronutrient powder and syrup groups. It is possible that absolute nutrient intake may be overestimated by the FFQ, but this possibility does not compromise the ability to compare study groups. Given the observed differences in dietary energy consumption among the three supplemented groups, it can be concluded that supplementation with micronutrient powders is an adequate option for urban children who have met their minimum energy and protein requirements.

Adequacy of Some Locally Produced Complementary Foods Marketed in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Senegal.

Adequate complementary foods are needed to help reduce the high prevalence of stunting in children in many Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). We assessed the availability, affordability, and nutrient adequacy of imported and locally produced processed cereal-based blends (PCBBs), marketed as complementary food for young children in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Senegal. In total, 19 local producers and 275 points of sale in the four countries were surveyed to evaluate the quantities and accessibility of PCBBs. In addition, 32 PCBBs were analysed for their nutritional composition and packaging information. The results showed that only 7 out of 32 PCBBs could be classified as nutritionally satisfactory. Access to the products was insufficient in all surveyed settings. At the points of sale, the PCBB market was dominated by imported products, even though two out of four imported PCBBs were not nutritionally satisfactory. Imported PCBBs were two to three times more expensive than locally produced PCBBs. Labelling of the PCBBs was inadequate in many aspects. Technical support should be offered to local PCBB producers to ensure the adequate formulation and supply of an appropriate vitamin and mineral premix. The development of national specific regulations on PCBB composition and labelling is strongly recommended in these countries.

Formulation of a complementary food fortified with broad beans (Vicia faba) in southern Ethiopia

Adequate nutrient intake, especially of protein and micronutrients, enhances growth of children and decreases susceptibility to disease. Major contributing factors to malnutrition among infants and children are low purchasing power of the family resulting in poor quality foods. A cross-sectional and laboratory-based study was conducted at Titecha Kebele in Ethiopia to assess the consumption pattern of broad bean. The work also assessed use of broad bean for complementary feeding of young children, following FAO/WHO/UNU’s recommendation of adding up to a maximum of 40% legumes to cereal-based complementary food for young children. Study participants were mother-child pairs (n=169), and children were between 6-35 months of age. Most families were in poverty with stunting, wasting, and underweight present in 22.5, 4.7, and 8.3% of study children, respectively. Questionnaires gathered information on dietary intakes, and focus group discussions were used to obtain indepth information on the mother’s attitude and knowledge of child feeding, as well as overall consumption of broad beans. The mean dietary diversity score of children was approximately two out of a possible eight, and no child had consumed meat, fish, or vitamin A-containing fruits or vegetables the day before the study. Sixty percent of mothers did not provide bean-based food for their children, with the most frequently reported reason being lack of knowledge of its nutrient value for young children. To a typical complementary food of barley-maize porridge, 10, 20 and 30% of cereal was replaced by processed broad beans (Vicia faba), which increased in protein content, with no meaningful change in phytate content. Sensory evaluation showed that participant children and mothers preferred the taste of the 10% broad bean porridge; however, all added broad bean porridges had similar acceptability to the barley-maize control. Thus, inclusion of processed broad bean can effectively be done to improve nutrient content and nutrient availability of traditional cereal-based complementary foods in the Titecha kebele region of Ethiopia.

Ability of Selected Lactic Acid Bacteria to Ferment a Pearl Millet–Soybean Slurry to Produce Gruels for Complementary Foods for Young Children

To assess the ability of lactic acid bacteria to improve some nutritional characteristics of the pearl millet-soybean slurry to prepare complementary foods for young children in African countries, inoculation was performed using strains previously selected for their ability to hydrolyse starch, phytate, or alpha-galactooligosaccharides (alpha-GOS). For the sake of comparison with the action of a natural microflora, fermentation was also performed by back slopping inoculation, that is, with a sample obtained from spontaneously fermented traditional pearl millet slurry obtained from a small scale processing unit in Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou). Starter cultures thrived on the slurry as shown by counts on MRS agar, TTGE fingerprints, and fermentation patterns. The fermentation of precooked slurries inoculated by back slopping or with mixed cultures containing the amylolytic strain Lb. plantarum A6 enabled partial starch hydrolysis. Corresponding gruels had a suitable consistency for young child feeding at high dry matter content, and a high energy density: 88.7 +/- 4.2 and 75.8 +/- 5.1 kcal/100 g of sweetened gruel, for the gruels inoculated by back slopping or with Lb. plantarum A6, respectively. Unexpectedly, no decrease in phytates was observed in any of the experiments, suggesting the presence of one or more inhibitory compounds in soybean. Furthermore, preprocessing conditions before fermentation affect the carbohydrate composition of slurry and have a more profound effect than fermentation on the reduction of the alpha-GOS content.

Enzyme activities of lactic acid bacteria from a pearl millet fermented gruel ( ben-saalga) of functional interest in nutrition

Lactic acid bacteria responsible for the fermentation of a pearl-millet based fermented gruel, ben-saalga, were investigated for enzyme activity in relation with the nutritional characteristics of gruels used as complementary foods for young children. Thirty pre-selected LAB from a set of 155 isolates were characterized principally for their ability to produce amylase, phytase and α-galactosidase. Two Lactobacillus plantarum strains (4.4 and 6.1) and three Lactobacillus fermentum strains (11.11.2, 3.7, 7.4) able to produce one or more of these enzymes were selected. Only weak amylase activity was found in the two Lactobacillus plantarum strains. α-amylase activity was associated with cells and was lower than 0.05 Ceralpha Units/ml. Phytase activity was detected in all five strains and was linked to the cell. The highest phytase activity was found in Lb. plantarum 4.4 and 6.1 (348.7 ± 17.4U/ml and 276.3 ± 51.4U/ml, respectively) and Lb. fermentum 7.4. (276.3 ± 13.2U/ml). All strains displayed a cell-linked α-galactosidase activity. In a medium containing 2% glucose, the highest cellular activity was found in Lb. fermentum 3.7 (1441.1 ± 133.7U/ml) and Lb. plantarum 4.4 (1223.1 ± 148.3U/ml) after 6h of fermentation in the presence of stachyose, and in Lb. plantarum 4.4 (763.3 ± 23.5U/ml) and Lb. fermentum 7.4 (346.7 ± 14.8U/ml) after 24h of fermentation with raffinose. These results are consistent with previous observations showing that phytates and α-galactooligosaccharides decreased during the natural lactic acid fermentation of pearl millet slurries, and that partial starch hydrolysis can be performed by endogenous microflora provided a pre-gelatinisation step is included in the process.

Consumption pattern, biochemical composition and nutritional value of fermented pearl millet gruels in Burkina Faso

Ben-kida and ben-saalga are popular pearl-millet-based fermented gruels in Burkina Faso. A survey of 318 households in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) showed that they are often used as complementary food for young children. Pearl millet and gruels, sampled in 48 production units, were analysed for proximate composition, factors reducing nutrient bioavailability (phytate, insoluble fibres and iron-binding phenolic compounds), α-galactosides, sugars, total lactic acid and d-lactic acid, zinc and iron contents. The effects of processing of pearl millet into fermented gruel are discussed. Both positive effects (e.g. a decrease in factors reducing nutrient bioavailability or α-galactosides) and undesirable effects (e.g. considerable lipid, protein, iron and zinc losses) were observed. Lactic acid was produced during processing and d(−)-lactate was detected in all samples. The gruels had very low energy density, even after addition of sugar, and low lipid, protein and mineral contents, well below recommendations for complementary foods.

Effect of high pressure homogenisation on the capacity of Lactobacillus plantarum A6 to ferment rice/soybean slurries to prepare high energy density complementary food

New bioprocesses to prepare high energy density (HED) gruels for complementary young child feeding are being developed based on the ability of amylolytic lactic acid bacteria (ALAB) to modify the rheological characteristics of cereal-based slurries, provided appropriate pretreatment are applied. Gelatinisation is a common pre-treatment which could be implemented to enhance the action of amylases, and has been successfully used in a former study (Nguyen, T. T. T., Loiseau, G., Icard-Vernière, C., Rochette, I., Trèche, S., & Guyot, J.-P. (2007). Effect of fermentation by amylolytic lactic acid bacteria in process combinations on characteristics of rice/soybean slurries: a new method to prepare high energy density complementary foods for young children. Food Chemistry, 100, 623–631.) in combination with ALAB to prepare from a blend of rice/soybean flours semi-liquid fermented HED gruels with a high dry matter (DM) content (23–32%). In this study, it is shown that a mild pre-heating treatment which consists in suspending a rice/soybean flour blend in hot water (70 °C) combined with high pressure homogenisation (HPH) can substitute gelatinisation before fermentation by the ALAB Lactobacillus plantarum A6 to prepare HDE gruels after cooking of the fermented slurry. As an alternative, allowing better condition of handling and storage, spray drying can be applied to such pre-heated HPH treated fermented slurries to obtain fermented flours which can be used further to prepare HDE gruels.

Effect of fermentation by amylolytic lactic acid bacteria, in process combinations, on characteristics of rice/soybean slurries: A new method for preparing high energy density complementary foods for young children

The use of amylolytic lactic acid bacteria (ALAB) in new methods to prepare high energy density complementary foods for young children was investigated. Using gelatinised slurry, composed of a mixture of rice with soybean, fermentation kinetics by the ALAB Lactobacillus plantarum A6, and chemical and rheological changes were studied at different dry matter (DM) contents. At high DM content (23%), it was possible to obtain a semi-liquid fermented gruel presenting the necessary characteristics to fulfil the energy requirement of young children. Furthermore, combination with spray-drying, as a post-treatment after fermentation by strain A6, had the additional advantage of enabling the use of spray-dried fermented flour to prepare gruels with higher DM content (30–33%) corresponding to 128–140 kcal/100 g of gruel.

B Vitamins: Proposed Fortification Levels for Complementary Foods for Young Children

The B vitamins, except for folate, can be classified as group I nutrients during lactation. Nutrients in this category share the following characteristics: low maternal intake or stores during lactation reduce the concentration in human milk, and infants' stores are readily depleted. For some of these nutrients, the infants' stores at birth may be depleted by maternal deficiency during pregnancy. The prevalence of some B vitamin deficiencies, especially deficiencies of riboflavin and vitamin B-12, is probably much higher than is usually assumed. Taken together, these considerations emphasize the importance of supplying adequate amounts of B vitamins to infants and young children. Recommendations are made here on the amounts and densities of B vitamins that should be present in fortified complementary foods fed to children aged 6-24 mo. The values are based on the difference between recommended daily intakes and the amount that the child will receive from maternal milk using estimates reported in the literature. There are few concerns about the potential toxicity of any of these vitamins at the levels likely to be added to complementary foods. If there are losses during food preparation or concentrations of the vitamins are low in human milk, the estimates provided may need to be increased. The adequacy of these recommendations must be evaluated thoroughly.