Cooking mode and ripening stage influence physicochemical and nutritional properties of boiled plantain pulps.

BACKGROUND: Plantains are of major importance in the diet of many African populations. Plantains undergo many processing techniques at different ripening stages. Boiling is the most common method of processing plantains in Cameroonian households. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of cooking mode and ripening stage on the physicochemical and nutritional parameters of two Musa genotypes. Fruits from genotypes, Batard and CARBAP K74, at three ripening stages (unripe, semi-ripe and ripe) were studied. Physicochemical and nutritional analyses were performed on raw and cooked pulps with and without peel at different cooking times (from 10 to 60 min). RESULTS: Significant variations (P < 0.05) were observed in the parameters assessed during cooking at each ripening stage according to cooking time. Plantain pulps boiled with peel exhibited high firmness (0.7-1.7 kgf), high soluble solids (7.4-22.4°Brix) and high dry matter content (29.8-38.3%) at all ripening stages. This cooking method yielded high protein (3.0-4.8%), lipid (0.2-1.8%), total starch (32-73%) and total carbohydrate (18-32%) contents. Boiling with or without peel had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on the pH of Batard pulps, nor the ash content of the pulps of both genotypes. CONCLUSION: Irrespective of the ripening stages used, during cooking by immersion in boiling water, cooking with peel best preserves the physicochemical and nutritional parameters of the analysed genotypes. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Trace elements in foods of children from Cameroon: a focus on zinc and phytate content.

In developing countries, complementary foods are based on local cereal porridges. These foods are poor in trace elements, with a high risk of inducing micronutrient deficiencies-the primary cause of mortality in children under the age of five. Inappropriate feeding of complementary foods is the major factor creating malnutrition and micronutrients deficiencies in Cameroon children, as well as in other developing countries. This study determined the zinc and phytate content of 30 complementary foods that were based on maize or Irish potatoes. The foods were blended or treated by dehusking, fermentation and germination. Zinc was measured by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry and phytates by high pressure-liquid chromatography; then phytates/zinc molar ratios were calculated. Concentrations (mg/100g dry matter) ranged, respectively, from 0.20 to 2.58 (0.12 ± 0.67) for zinc and from 0.00 to 6.04 (1.87 ± 1.7) for phytates. The phytate/zinc ratio varied from 0.00 to 51.62 (11.12 ± 11.53). It appears that germination and fermentation reduced the level of phytates: however, zinc levels in the samples did not change significantly. The traditional, local complementary foods were not only poor in zinc, but contained very high levels of phytates. These phytates have the potential to considerately reduce the acid extraction of zinc, and could impair its bioavailability.