Nutritional composition of formulated complementary food produced from blends of malted and unmalted yellow maize (Zea mays), soybean (Glycine max), and tiger nut (Cyperus esculentus) flour

Article history: Received: January 1, 2020 Accepted: June 10, 2020 Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and micronutrient deficiencies among infants and children in developing countries have been a major concern of the World Health Organization. Formulation of complementary food from local sources of raw materials can be of great help in solving the problems of protein energy malnutrition. This study determined the nutritional composition of four formulated complementary foods from malted yellow maize, pre-gelatinized yellow maize, soybean, and tiger nut flour. The results showed an increase in protein content (17.6, 16.9, 20.4 & 19.7 %), crude fat (14.9, 12.9, 13.0 & 12.9 %) and energy (433.1, 419.4, 421.5 & 426.6 %) when compared with the control sample. The functional properties also competed favourably with the control sample, with the formulated samples having water absorption capacity (171.9, 169.0, 184.1 & 167.4 %), swelling power (27.9, 25.2, 29.8 and 28.1 %), and bulk density at the same level for all the formulated samples (0.5 g/ml). The formulated samples contained a higher amount of iron and magnesium, and the anti-nutritional factors fell below the hazard level. In conclusion, formulated complementary food made from locally sourced raw materials has enough nutritional composition to be able to combat PEM and micronutrient deficiencies among infants and children.