Nutritional characteristics and sensory properties of orange fleshed sweet potato-based complementary food fortified with pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and tigernut (Cyperus esculentus) composite flours

The study evaluates nutritional characteristics and sensory properties of orange fleshed sweet potato-based complementary food fortified with pigeon pea and tigernut composite flour. Standard processing and analytical methods were used in material preparation and analyses for the composite flour blends. The composite flours were blended in ratio of 100:0:0, 60:30:10, 65:25:10, 70:20:10, 75:15:10 and labeled A, B, C, D and E, respectively. Result shows that there was significant improvement (p< 0.05) in the proximate composition of all the composite flours determined. Significant (P<0.05) difference exists across the samples for Ca, Fe, P, K, Na and Mg with values ranging from 38.12 to 54.55 g/100g, 2.87 to 4.18 g/100g, 48.16 to 68.60 g/100g, 89.40 to 148.17 g/100g, 1.83 to 3.13 g/100g and 92.60 to 119.57 g/100g, respectively. There was significant difference (p < 0.05) among all samples for all the vitamin assayed with values ranging from 1432.14 to 1746.85 (RAE), 0.06 to 0.17 g/100g, 0.03 to 0.10 g/100g, 0.05 to 0.12 g/100g and 13.42 to 17.26 g/100g for vitamin A, B1, B2, B3 and C, respectively while negligible amounts of antinutritional factors obtained ranged from 0.42 to 1.71 mg/100g, 0.17 to 1.14 g/100g, 0.81 to 1.67 g/100g, 1.79 to 1.42 g/100g and 0.38 to 1.54 g/100g for phytate, oxalate, tannins, amylase and trypsin inhibitors, respectively. Sensory evaluation mean scores revealed substantial overall acceptability of all the formulated complementary food samples while sample with 25 % pigeon pea and 10 % tigernut was most preferred by the panelists. The quality of OFSP-based complementary samples were greatly improved by pigeon pea and tigernut fortification and could be nutritional beneficial to infants and young children.