Smart Food Innovation: Boosting Nutrition through Crafted Breakfast Cereal from Underutilized Crops, Fonio Millet (ACHA) (Digitaria exilis) Bambara Nut (Vigna subterranean) and Soybean (Glycine max)

Abstract

Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually made from fonio millet. Fonio millet is lacking in essential amino acids. The nutrient content of this meal can be improved by complementing it with legumes crops. The objective of this work is to improve and evaluate the nutritional and sensory profile of ready-to-eat breakfast cereal using blends of fonio millet, soybean and bambara nut flour. Five samples were prepared by mixing fonio millet, soybean and bambara nut flour blends in the ratio 100:0:0, 50:25:25, 50:20:30, 50:30:20, 60:20:20 respectively. The proximate composition, minerals analysis, anti-nutritional factors, functional properties and sensory parameters of the samples were determined using standard methods. The moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude ash and carbohydrate contents ranged from 8.35%-9.48%, 7.88%-14.88%, 4.25%-10.84%, 1.28%-2.25% and 66.91%-72.82% respectively. The mineral contents of the samples depicted that sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium, manganese and zinc ranged from 1.11-2.10mg/100g, 12.03-16.84 mg/100g, 46.74-55.94mg/100g, 9.38-12.49mg/100g, 26.46-30.30mg/100g, 1.09-8.76mg/g respectively. The energy contribution of the samples ranged from 378.29 to 412.84 kcal/100g, showing the highest contribution in sample B (50%, 25%, 25% fonio millet, bambaranut and soybeans respectively. Results for the anti-nutrients are as follows; saponin (0.00-0.04mg/100g), Alkaloid (0.00-0.20mg/100g), flavonoid (0.00-0.06mg/100g), tannin (0.00-0.52mg/g), phytates (0.30-0.40mg/100g). The sensory results revealed that the breakfast cereal blend 50:20:30 for fonio millet, soybean and bamabara nut was most acceptable. Formulation from 50:20:30 for fonio millet, soybean and bamabara nut respectively showed improved nutritional and sensory properties.