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Protein-energy malnutrition is one of the leading causes of death for children under-five in developing countries and Kenya is no exception. These children rely on starchy weaning foods such as finger millet (Eleusine coracana), which have poor protein digestibility. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), a locally available nutritious legume, could be an excellent complement to lysine-deficient millet diets. The present study thus aimed at innovatively improving protein digestibility of a baby weaning food, by evaluating the effect of malting on improved finger millet genotypes (U15, P224, KNE741, KNE629 and Snapping green) to enable selection of the best varieties with superior nutritional credential post process. Blending of selected finger millet with precooked cowpea flour followed the WHO recommended level at 10.32%, 21.26%, and 32.75% with 0% as control. Extractable phenols, condensed tannins, phytic acid, protein content, and protein digestibility were determined using recommended methods. Extractable phenol, condensed tannin, and phytate notably decreased by 44%, 47%, and 29% respectively after malting. Additionally, compositing with precooked cowpea increased protein content and protein digestibility in flour by about 6–39%. Cooking resulted in a 10% increase in protein digestibility in the complementary porridge. Malting of finger millet and compositing it with precooked cowpea has the potential to address PEM as it results in reduced anti-nutritional content with a concomitant improvement in protein digestibility of the baby weaning food.

Long-horned grasshopper (Ruspolia differens Serville) is a tasty delicacy in over 20 African countries. This study evaluated the impact of diverse post-harvest thermal treatment (blanching, boiling, toasting, and deep-frying) on the nutrients, total flavonoid content and sterols preservation of R. differens products. Crude protein, ash, and fibre of R. differens was drastically reduced by deep-frying technique. There was increase in Omega-3 (α-linolenic acid), Omega-6 fatty acid (linoleic and arachidonic acids) and sterols [(22Z)-27-Norergosta-5,22-dien-3β-ol, cholesterol, campesterol, cholest-4-ene-3-one and β-sitosterol] and flavonoids (2-3 folds) during blanching compared to other techniques. The iron and zinc content increased significantly in blanched and boiled products of R. differens. Thus, losses of nutrients, total flavonoid content and sterols during processing of R. differens for food can be mitigated by employing blanching technique, which is cheaper and least time-consuming. The implications of these dietary and therapeutic compounds on human nutrition and health are discussed.

Protein energy malnutrition remains a huge burden in Sub-Saharan Africa. Principally, it is due to children being fed on millet gruels which are high in carbohydrates, and low protein. Moreover, they contain significant amounts of anti-nutrients such as phytates, phenols and tannins. Compositing of malted finger millet flour with other flours has potential for improving the nutritional quality and sensory attributes of these foods. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of compositing malted finger millet flour with cowpea on the anti-nutritional contents and sensory properties of formulated baby weaning food. Mixing selected improved finger millet varieties with precooked cowpea flour was based on WHO recommended levels. There was a significant (p 0.05) reduction in total phenolic content, tannin content and phytic acid by 41%, 50%, and 44%, after compositing with malted finger millet and precooked cowpea at 10.32%, 21.26% and 32.75%, respectively. Cooking process significantly reduced amount of trypsin inhibitors, and other anti-nutrients both in cowpea and complementary porridge. Loadings from principal component analysis (PCA) of 17 sensory attributes of porridge showed that approximately over 80% of the variations in sensory attributes were explained by the first four principal components. Reductions in texture attributes (stickiness and viscosity) and astringency aftertaste corresponded to increase in overall aroma and flavour of the porridge in terms of malty flavour and aroma. Although inclusion of 32.75% precooked cowpea gave the highest reduction in anti-nutrients, it resulted in cooked cowpea flavour. For consumer acceptability, it may require masking by use of commercial flavours. Therefore this work shows that malted finger millet-pre-cooked cowpea have potential to be used in formulating cultural acceptable complementary food.

Taro (Colocasia esculenta) has great potential as an income generation, food and nutritional security crop in sub Saharan Africa. However, potential to bioaccumulate heavy metals is a food safety concern. In this study, variation and correlations of trace elements, anti-nutrients in raw taro corms and sensory attributes of taro crisps were evaluated. Trace elements were significantly (p

Kafirin, the sorghum prolamin protein, like its maize homologue zein, can be made into microparticles and films and potentially used as a biomaterial. Zein has good bio- and cyto-compatibility. Kafirin could be advantageous as it is more hydrophobic, more crosslinked, more slowly digested by mammalian proteases than zein and is non-allergenic. The safety and biocompatibility of kafirin implants in two forms was determined in rodent models. One week post subcutaneous injection of kafirin microparticles (size 5-µm diameter) in mice, chronic inflammation, abnormal red blood cells, and gross fibrin formation were observed. This chronic inflammatory response was possibly caused by the release of hydrolysis products such as glutamate during the degradation of the kafirin microparticles. In contrast, films made from kafirin microparticles (50-µm thick, folded into 1 cm(3) ) implanted in rats showed no abnormal inflammatory reactions and were only partially degraded by day 28. The slower degradation of the kafirin films was probably due to their far smaller surface area when compared to kafirin microparticles. Thus, kafirin films appear to have potential as a biomaterial. This study also raises awareness that the form of prolamin based biomaterials, (kafirin and zein) should be considered when assessing the safety of such materials.