Designing sustainable weaning foods for developing countries: not only a matter of nutrients.

Blended complementary foods from cereals and high-protein sources are used worldwide to cope with infants' malnutrition. However, the usefulness of the food matrix during traditional processes reaches suboptimal effectiveness due to cereal gelatinization and viscosity, which reduce consumption. The interplay between nutritional and physical qualities needed for weaning children presents further significant constraints. A combination of processing methods can improve and optimize the overall product quality. This paper investigated the nutritional, functional, and anti-nutritional factors of a complementary infant porridge made by combining fermented sorghum flour with germinated bottle gourd seed flour. Overall, the combination improved the functional and physical properties of the porridge suitable for children of 10 months and over. A serving of 100 g would contribute 115-145% and 23-31% of the recommended nutritional intake of protein and energy, respectively, for low breast milk energy between 6-24 months. The results demonstrate that a combination of strategies and technologies are needed to balance nutritional and physical quality.

Effects of drying on the nutritional, sensory and microbiological quality of edible stinkbug (Encosternumdelgorguei).

Entomophagy has recently gained attention as a potential solution to the problems of food and nutritional security. One example is the consumption of edible stinkbug. Different drying techniques may affect the nutritional, microbiological and sensory properties of the edible stinkbugs. Thus, the study assessed the effects of toasting, microwave, oven and sun drying on the nutritional composition, microbiological quality and sensory attributes of processed edible stinkbugs. Drying significantly (p < 0.05) increased the crude protein and fat content of the edible stink bugs with the highest values being recorded for the toasted samples (66.65 & 37.17% respectively). Highest Ca, K, Zn, Mg, Fe and P values were recorded after microwave drying. Reduction of 2.94 and 2.99 log cycles of the total viable count (TVC) was observed in oven and microwave dried edible stinkbugs. Toasting and microwave drying eliminated the yeasts and moulds, Enterobacteriaceae and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in edible stinkbugs. The appearance, aroma, taste, texture and overall acceptability scores were in the same order for toasted > oven dried > microwave dried > sun dried edible stinkbugs. Toasting, oven and microwave drying can be used for processing of edible stinkbugs.

Bread Products from Blends of African Climate Resilient Crops: Baking Quality, Sensory Profile and Consumers' Perception.

With food insecurity rising dramatically in Sub-Saharan Africa, promoting the use of sorghum, cowpea and cassava flours in staple food such as bread may reduce wheat imports and stimulate the local economy through new value chains. However, studies addressing the technological functionality of blends of these crops and the sensory properties of the obtained breads are scarce. In this study, cowpea varieties (i.e., Glenda and Bechuana), dry-heating of cowpea flour and cowpea to sorghum ratio were studied for their effects on the physical and sensory properties of breads made from flour blends. Increasing cowpea Glenda flour addition from 9 to 27% (in place of sorghum) significantly improved bread specific volume and crumb texture in terms of instrumental hardness and cohesiveness. These improvements were explained by higher water binding, starch gelatinization temperatures and starch granule integrity during pasting of cowpea compared to sorghum and cassava. Differences in physicochemical properties among cowpea flours did not significantly affect bread properties and texture sensory attributes. However, cowpea variety and dry-heating significantly affected flavour attributes (i.e., beany, yeasty and ryebread). Consumer tests indicated that composite breads could be significantly distinguished for most of the sensory attributes compared to commercial wholemeal wheat bread. Nevertheless, the majority of consumers scored the composite breads from neutral to positive with regard to liking. Using these composite doughs, chapati were produced in Uganda by street vendors and tin breads by local bakeries, demonstrating the practical relevance of the study and the potential impact for the local situation. Overall, this study shows that sorghum, cowpea and cassava flour blends can be used for commercial bread-type applications instead of wheat in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Dry Heating of Cowpea Flour below Biopolymer Melting Temperatures Improves the Physical Properties of Bread Made from Climate-Resilient Crops.

Improving the technological functionality of climate-resilient crops (CRCs) to promote their use in staple foods, such as bread, is relevant to addressing food and nutrition security in Africa. Dry heating of cowpea flour (CPF) was studied as a simple technology to modulate CPF physicochemical properties in relation to bread applications. For this purpose, the melting behavior of cowpea starch and proteins in CPF was first studied and modeled using Flory-Huggins theory for polymer melting. Next, dry-heating conditions were investigated based on the predicted biopolymer melting transitions in CPF to be well below starch and protein melting. The pasting properties (i.e., peak viscosity, final viscosity, breakdown and setback) of CPF could be selectively modulated depending on temperature-time combinations without altering the thermal behavior (i.e., melting enthalpies) of CPF. Water-binding capacity and soluble solids decreased with the increased severity of the temperature-time combinations. Dry-heated CPF added to CRC-based bread significantly improved crumb texture. In particular, dry heating at 100 °C for 2 h provided bread with the highest crumb softness, cohesiveness and resilience. The positive effects on the crumb texture could be largely related to enhanced starch integrity, as indicated by a reduction in breakdown viscosity after treatment. Overall, dry heating of CPF under defined conditions is a promising technology for promoting the use of CPF as a techno-functional and protein-rich ingredient in bread-type products.

Monkey orange fruit juice improves the nutritional quality of a maize-based diet.

This paper studied the nutritional impact of the use of juice from Strychnos cocculoides (monkey orange) in a maize-based porridge. Monkey orange juice is traditionally used to supplement maize porridge - a staple breakfast cereal especially for vulnerable groups. Monkey orange fruits contain high amounts of micronutrients and phenolic compounds and are widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The valuable components can be efficiently extracted by traditional and pectinase maceration techniques. The bioaccessibility of minerals and main phenolic compounds in maize porridge (5 g maize meal) supplemented by monkey orange juice (100 ml) were assessed after in-vitro digestion together with the kinetics of starch degradation. Caffeic and protocatechuic acids exceeded 100%, and chlorogenic acid 81% bioaccessibility after simulated intestinal digestion. Rutin was undetected after the simulated intestinal phase due to precipitation in the pellet. In-vitro bioaccessibility of minerals ranged from 12 to 62% in monkey orange enriched porridge. A 50-70% decrease of starch hydrolysis was observed at the end of the simulated intestinal digestion of monkey orange maize porridge confirming the known potential of phenolic compounds to decrease the glycaemic index of starch-rich foods. Consequently monkey orange juice appeared a suitable ingredient to enrich staple maize porridge thanks to its micronutrients and health benefit potential. Similar relationships of other fruits and starchy foods warrant study as a means to improve the nutritional quality of the diets of malnourished populations.

Effect of heat and pectinase maceration on phenolic compounds and physicochemical quality of Strychnos cocculoides juice.

Strychnos cocculoides fruit is an important food source for rural populations in Zimbabwe in times of scarcity. Its thick pulp tightly adheres to its seeds, causing pulp extraction constraints and waste during processing, leading to underutilisation. Therefore, pectinase maceration combined with heat treatments was studied to improve juice yield and juice quality. Metabolite profiling according to the heat map, FancyTile chromatic scale approach and phenolic compound content were used to compare the identified compounds. Prior to treatments, 16 known phenolic compounds, predominantly belonging to the phenolic acids, flavonoids and iridoid glucoside classes, were tentatively characterized for the first time in S. cocculoides using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry and LC/MS/MS. Overall, results showed that enzymatic treatments increased pulp yield (by 26%), physicochemical quality (38% increase in juice clarity), content of phenolic compounds (predominantly kaempferol, quercetin, caffeic acid, protocatechuic acid, iridoids) and antioxidant activity.The improved extraction of S. cocculoides pulp increases juice yield as well as juice quality by supplying larger amounts of phenolic compounds that have potential health benefits and act as dietary sources of antioxidants for the prevention of diseases caused by oxidative stress.