Formulation of an infant flour based on Ipomoea batatas, Phaseolus vulgaris, Pleurotus floridanus, Phoenix dactylifera, Spirulina platensis and palm oil for children in the Province of Chari Baguirmi, Chad

Protein-energy malnutrition due to an unbalanced diet in terms of quality and quantity is a major problem in under developped countries, particularly Chad. The studies objective was to formulate an infant flour based on sweet potato, beans, mushrooms, dates, spirulina and palm oil meeting FAO/WHO standards, 2011. To achieve this, the different food matrices were collected at the Chari Baguirmi market then the sweet potato was blanched for 6 min at 83°C, the bean was soaked for 82 h at 43°C, the mushroom, the date, the spirulina were crushed. The flours obtained from each of the matrices were characterized and mixed according to the proportions defined by the Excel software solver. The final mixture obtained also underwent physicochemical and techno-functional characterization according to standard methods AOAC. The results obtained showed a significant decline in the contents of antinutrients in the processed bean flour compared to the unprocessed bean flour and a significant increment in the reducing sugar content in the treated sweet potato flour compared to the treated sweet potato flour, the flour of proportion 43 (sweet potato):41 (bean):5 (mushroom):1 (date):2 (spirulina):8 (palm oil) respectively for the different matrices mentioned with proteins content of 12.68%, lipids content of 8.83%, carbohydrates content of 66.09% and an energy value of 399.79 Kcal/10g . Among the 16 amino acids quantified, the most abundant were L-Lys (1.628), L-Trp (1.542) and L-Leu (1.518). The functional properties of this flour showed a good final viscosity of 835.5 cp. This flour made from orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, red beans, mushrooms, dates, spirulina and palm oil could meet FAO/WHO standards and combat protein-energy malnutrition.