Nutritional, Functional and Sensory Characteristics of Infant Flours from a Blend of Fermented Plantain (Musa paradisiaca), Roasted Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) Nut and Baobab Pulp (Adansonia digitata)

Inadequate complementary feeding practices, and especially the low quality of home-made complementary foods is one of the main causes of malnutrition in developing countries. This study aimed to develop infant flours from local foodstuffs so as to meet the energy needs and nutrients requirements of young children. To achieve this goal, plantain was fermented and cooked, cashew nut was roasted and baobab pulp was used without any treatment. The ingredients were dried, ground into flours, and their proximate composition was determined. Based on their nutrient content, they were blended in different proportions using Design Expert software to obtain five formulations (FC1-FC5). The nutritional composition (proximate composition, vitamin A, vitamin C and iron content) and functional properties (water absorption capacity, bulk density, solubility and wettability) of the formulations were determined. Gruels were prepared from the produced flours and their energy density, viscosity and sensory properties (color, taste, texture and the overall acceptance) were assessed. Results indicate that moisture (5.88-6.33%), ash (4.17-5.94%), crude protein (9.17-10.23%), total sugar (66.19-69.14%), crude fiber (1.87-2.14%) vitamin C (27.99-29.85 mg/100 g) and energy value (405.59-409.36 kcal/100 g) of all the flours produced met the World Food Program (WFP) standards. All the formulations were limited in vitamin A (221.77-239.78µg/100 g) and iron (4.69-4.87 mg/100 g) according to WFP recommendations. All the flours produced had good water absorption capacity (335-392%), bulk density (60-64%), dispersibility (57.5-59.5%) and wettability index (15.5-17%), interesting functional properties for infant flours. The gruels prepared from these flours had good viscosity (2850-2900 mPa/s) and energy density (81.12-81.87 kcal/100 mL), but with low scores recorded in sensory evaluation of their color, taste, texture and the overall acceptance compared to a commercial infant gruel. Among the formulated flours, FC2 (Plantain 69%, cashew nut 27%, Baobab pulp 4%) and FC4 (Plantain 71%, cashew nut 25%, Baobab pulp 4%) were the most appreciated, but needed to be fortified in iron and vitamin A in order to be recommended as complementary flour to contribute to alleviate toddler malnutrition.