Nutritional Composition and Acceptability of Baobab Pulp–Fortified Pearl Millet Instant Beverage Powder Among Adolescent Girls

Iron deficiency anaemia is a significant public health issue among adolescent girls in developing countries, including Ghana, largely due to their consumption of monotonous plant-based diets that have low bioavailable iron. Yet, nutrition interventions for iron deficiency anaemia prevention and control focus less on adolescent girls. This study is therefore aimed at developing and assessing the nutritional composition and acceptability of pearl millet instant beverage powder enriched with vitamin C–rich baobab pulp as a food-to-food fortification strategy to enhance the bioavailability of iron to adolescent girls in Ghana. The pearl millet beverage powder was mixed with baobab pulp in the ratios of 100:0, 100:10, 100:15, and 100:20 (w/w) and subjected to sensory evaluation by adolescent girls. The proximate, mineral, and phytochemical contents, as well as the microbiological quality of the most preferred formulation, which had a 100:15 ratio of pearl millet powder and baobab pulp, were evaluated using standard methods. The fortified powder was found to be rich in protein (13.90 g/100 g), iron (18.91 mg/100 g), vitamin C (27.70 mg/100 g), and other essential nutrients. A 350 mL serving of beverage made from 69 g of the most preferred fortified powder, which contains 13% of baobab pulp, can provide up to 23%, 96%, and 30.4% of the average recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of protein, iron, and vitamin C for adolescent girls, respectively. In conclusion, the fortified powder with a 100:15 ratio of pearl millet beverage powder and baobab pulp is highly preferred and could serve as a potential source of bioavailable iron for adolescent girls.