Evaluation of Nutritional Composition and Sensory Attributes of Breadfruit-Soybean Flour Blends for Complementary Foods

The objectives of this study were to produce complementary foods from locally available, underutilized and inexpensive food materials (breadfruit and soybean), to assess their nutrients value and evaluate their sensory acceptability. Breadfruit and soybean flours were mixed in ratios 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30 and 60:40 (w/w) respectively. Proximate and mineral compositions of the blends were determined using standard analytical methods; energy value was estimated using the Atwater factor. The blends were prepared for sensory evaluation by cooking with the addition of vegetable oil and sucrose and then subjected to sensory evaluation using a commercial complementary food as control. The crude protein, crude fat, ash and crude fiber contents increased significantly with increased inclusion of soybean flour from 5.36 to 22.02 g/100 g, 1.03 to 6.03 g/100 g, 1.06 to 2.55 g/100 g and 4.77 to 5.86 g/100 g respectively while carbohydrate content reduced from 81.81 to 55.24 g/100 g. The energy value ranged from 357.97 to 363.31 kcal/100 g. The samples contained 66.74 - 76.50 mg/100 g sodium, 687.43 – 725.65 mg/100 g potassium, 64.00 – 103.04 mg/100 g calcium, 145.76 – 242.51 mg/100 g phosphorus, 4.80 – 9.98 mg/100 g iron and 3.18 – 4.61 mg/100 g zinc. The result of the sensory evaluation showed that 70:30 complementary food was the most preferred and acceptable in terms of all the sensory attributes evaluated and it compared favourably with the control. This sample also showed a promising capacity to meet the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) of protein, carbohydrate, potassium, phosphorus, iron and zinc for infants (7 -12 months). This study has shown that complementary food produced from breadfruit and soybean flour has appreciable nutritional density in terms of proximate and mineral compositions and could be used as a substitute for expensive commercial complementary foods especially among families with low income in Nigeria and other developing countries of the world.