Nutritional quality of formulated complementary diet from defatted almond seed, yellow maize and quality protein maize flours

Abstract

Traditional complementary foods are mainly starchy foods with limiting nutrient quality and can be fortified using protein rich crops like almond seed. This research thus aimed at investigating the nutritional quality of the formulated complementary diet from locally available almond seeds (Prunus amygdalus), high quality protein (QPM) and yellow maize after blending into flours. The proximate and amino acid compositions, in vitro protein qualities and functional properties of the blended flours were determined using standard methods. The in vivo studies involved feeding the weanling Wister albino rats with blended flours and commercial Cerelac (control), followed by hematological and histopathological determinations, while sensory attributes were evaluated by the semi-trained panelists. The protein contents of the flour blends (24–28%) were significantly (p < 0.05) better with adequate indispensable amino acids and improved functionalities than commercial cerelac (23%). Comparatively, the dried germinated QPM (DGQPM) has significant (p < 0.05) higher biological value (~ 37%) than fermented high QPM (FHQPM) (~ 30%), thereby indicating that the germination process improved protein quality of the diets. Besides, the in vivo data showed a positive effect of germination process as the rats fed with DGQPM has low white blood cells (30 × 102) compared to FHQPM (42 × 102) and cerelac (51 × 102). However, the fermentation process improved the packed cell volume of rats fed with FHQPM (49%) when compared to DGQPM and cerelac (47%). The formulated diets have no negative effects on the protein content (45.19–51.88 mg N/g) and weight (0.25–1.36 g) of the internal organs (liver, kidney and tissue) of the animals when compared to cerelac (53.72–55.04 mg N/g; 0.25–1.98 g), respectively. The panelists generally accepted all the formulated diets, hence encouraging their utilization in the global preparation of complimentary foods for young children to meet their nutritional needs and adding value to the locally produced underutilized almond seeds.

Protein quality assessment of pecan [Carya illinoinensis (wangenh.) K. Koch] and pine (Pinus gerardiana wall.) nuts for dietary supplementation

“…Recently, Tanwar et al (2019) studied the effect of supplementation of wild apricot kernel flour in a rat model and reported significantly ( P < 0.05) lower TPD (72.2 ± 4.9%–83.6 ± 5.9%) for wild apricot kernel than that of control (96.4 ± 3.5%). Contrarily, Adesanmi et al (2020) reported significantly ( P < 0.05) higher true digestibility (97.6%–98%) of diet/s comprising the blends of maize and almond (70:30) flours, which could be attributed due to the least amount of antinutritional factors in fermented/processed maize flour and almond.…”

“…The findings of Cajori (1921) demonstrated that pecan nut as the only source of dietary protein was not appropriate for rats and should be supplemented with some other proteins. Similarly, Adesanmi et al (2020) investigated the nutritional quality of blend/s of processed maize (70%) and almond seed (30%) flours as a sole source of diet in rats and observed substantially lower PER (0.58 ± 0.01–0.61 ± 0.01) as compared to control (1.30 ± 0.02). Previously, Shekib et al (2011) investigated the nutritional quality of two cultivars of Egyptian pecan nut and detected significantly ( P < 0.05) lower PER in experimental groups (approximately 2 ± 0.1) than that of control (2.2 ± 0.1).…”

“…However, all the experimental groups showed 37%–44% lower NPR values than that of control (Cc) for which the possible reasons have already been discussed. Several researchers have also reported lower NPR for other plant proteins such as Bacuri almond (2.8 ± 0.4 vs 3.7 ± 0.3) (Lima e Silva et al , 2014), Baru almond (2.3 ± 0.2 vs 4 ± 0.5) (Siqueira et al , 2015), cashew nut (3.2 ± 0.2 vs 4.4 ± 0.4) (de Oliveira Sousa et al , 2011), blend/s of maize and almond (approximately 0.34 vs 1) (Adesanmi et al , 2020) and wild raw apricot kernel (1 ± 0.5 vs 3.5 ± 0.4) (Tanwar et al , 2019), when compared to their respective control. In the current study, a strong and positive correlation was observed between NPR and BV ( r = 0.94).…”

“…So far, no literature is available on NPU of pecan or pine nut proteins or supplemented diets. Recently, Adesanmi et al (2020) investigated the biological quality of blend/s of processed maize and almond (70:30), which was used as a sole diet in rats and reported substantially lower NPU (28.6–35.7) than that of control (68.0). Apart from the reasons behind the lower values of biological indices in experimental groups discussed above, other probable reasons could be attributed to the type of dietary fiber in nut-based diets.…”

“…Lower BV in nut-based groups could be attributed to the presence of limiting amino acids lysine and threonine in pecan and pine kernel proteins (Venkatachalam and Sathe, 2006). Recently, Adesanmi et al (2020) assessed the nutritional quality of diet/s comprising blend/s of Protein quality assessment fermented/germinated maize (70%) and almond (30%) and reported BV in the range of 29.3%-36.7%. The lower BV was attributed to the complex metabolic process of the almond seed-enriched blends, which interferes with the absorption of macronutrients, and thus, reduces their bioavailability (Jachmanian et al, 1995).…”