Breadfruit flour is a healthy option for modern foods and food security

Abstract

Breadfruit is a traditional staple crop from Pacific islands with the potential to improve worldwide food security and mitigate diabetes. Flour produced from breadfruit is a gluten-free, low glycemic index, nutrient dense and complete protein option for modern foods but basic scientific knowledge of health impacts of a breadfruit-based diet in animals and humans was lacking. We designed a series of studies to provide basic and fundamental data on impacts of a breadfruit-based diet through an in vitro and in vivo model. Cooked breadfruit flour was digested through a multi-stage enzyme digestion model to estimate protein digestibility in comparison to wheat flour. Breadfruit protein was found to be easier to digest than wheat protein in the enzyme digestion model. The flour digestions were applied to Caco-2 cells to test the cytotoxicity and to measure the immunogenicity through cytokine expression. No significant differences were observed for immune factors and cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IL-8, TNF-α, IFN-γ) on Caco-2 cells between the breadfruit and wheat groups. A breadfruit-based rodent chow was formulated by substitution of all of the wheat in the standard formulation with breadfruit. The diets were isocaloric, nutrient equivalent and used to feed male and female C57BL/6 mice for 21 days. No sign of malnutrition, discomfort, illness or death was observed among the mice because of the diet. The histology and the cytokine expression of the mice ileum from both groups were analyzed and showed similar results. The expression of major bacteria was measured in the colon and showed similar results. Mice fed the breadfruit diet had a significantly higher growth rate and body weight than standard diet fed mice. No negative health outcomes were observed in studies with in vitro or in vivo models and breadfruit flour is a healthy alternative to other starches for modern foods.

Modification of Physicochemical Properties of Breadfruit Flour Using Different Twin-Screw Extrusion Conditions and Its Application in Soy Protein Gels

“…HS-HT: SME = 145 kJ/kg, melt temperature = 126 °C. 2 Maximum SEM (standard error of the mean) was reported. 3 ND is not detected.…”

“…Breadfruit is a relatively low-input crop since the tree does not need to be replanted each year and its production lifespan is 50 years or potentially more [1]. Therefore, the breadfruit crop has great potential to positively impact food security in the developing world and has significant economic potential worldwide once the obstacles with developing a global market are overcome [2,3]. Breadfruit flour has shown promise as an alternative flour source with enhanced water retention ability when compared with other more common flour sources (i.e., wheat flour) [4].…”

“…Native breadfruit flour. LS-LT: SME = 74 kJ/kg, melt temperature = 83 • C. LS-HT: SME = 74 kJ/kg, melt temperature = 105 • C. HS-LT: SME = 145 kJ/kg, melt temperature = 100 • C. HS-HT: SME = 145 kJ/kg, melt temperature = 126 • C 2. Maximum SEM (standard error of the mean) was reported 3.…”

Effect of Partial Replacement of Corn with Breadfruit (<em>Artocarpus altilis</em>) Flour on Growth Performance and Meat Quality of Broiler Chickens

“…The selected plant species were identified and authenticated as Artocarpus altilis by the National Herbarium, Department of National Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Breadfruit flour was prepared according to the methodology stated by Liu et al (2020) with slight modifications. Breadfruits were first cleaned thoroughly with fresh water and peeled off.…”

“…Several studies have emphasized that properly processed breadfruit meal in moderate levels (up to 40%) could be a potential energy source for broilers with no adverse effects on performance and feed efficiency (Ravindran and Sivakanesan, 1995;Adekunle et al, 2006;Oladunjoye et al, 2010). Its fruit is a rich source of energy (3870 kcal kg -1 ) with low crude fat content (3.94%) and contains highgrade protein made out of essential amino acids compared with corn (Liu et al, 2015;Liu et al, 2020;Needham et al, 2020). Besides, studies of Badrie et al (2010) and Jones et al (2011) well-documented breadfruit as a good source of minerals such as Ca, Mg, K, P, Cu, and Fe which are required to ensure the health and productivity of broiler.…”