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Incorporation of legumes and tuber flours could improve the protein quality and energy content of traditional supplementary foods prepared mainly from cereals such as maize and sorghum in the developing countries. This study focused on developing a nutritious supplementary food using staple cereals, legumes and palmyrah tuber. “PalmyrahNutrimix” was formulated from the flour of cowpea, chickpea, sesame, green gram, soya bean and palmyrah tuber. Palmyrah tuber flour was obtained through tuber boiling, sun drying and milling process. Sugar and palmyrah tuber flour were optimized via 25 treatments. Sensory evaluation results revealed that three formulae consisting of sugar (19.4%) with different ratio of boiled and dried palmyrah tuber flour (15.9%, 18.2% and 20.3%) scored the highest mean rank sum (71.6), which complies with the Sri Lankan standards for energy (468.37 kcal/100g), protein (15.66%), fat (10.08%), fiber (4.75%) and carbohydrate (61.15%). The total phenolic content (61.0±2.0 mg gallic acid equivalent/100g) confirmed the positive functional properties of the product. Water activity of the product (0.46) assured the keeping quality of the supplementary food mix. Glycemic Index (GI) values of the product with sugar and without sugar were 64.00 ± 1.90 and 50.50 ± 1.26, respectively. Low GI value (50.50) showed that without sugar, product could be given to people with diabetes. The market survey conducted with 30 families indicated that they preferred “PalmyrahNutrimix”, which scored for sensory attributes better than market available products. Shelf life of the product was at acceptable level in both HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) and MPS (Metalized Polystyrene) packaging materials for a period of six months. This study concludes that “PalmyrahNutrimix” meets Sri Lankan standards as a supplementary food with sufficient consumer acceptability and keeping quality. |
