Analysis of Nutrient Profile of Finger Millet(Eleusine coracana(L.)Gaertn.)for Baby Food Formulation Using Pigeon Pea(Cajanus cajan(L.)Millsp.)as Protein Source

Finger millet(Eleusine coracana(L.)Gaertn.)is a drought resistant crop with potentially tremendous but under-explored source of nutraceutical properties as compared to other regularly consumed cereals in the era of drawback of nutritional security,these characteristics must be harnessed to develop finger millet as a novel functional food.Under-nutrition caused by inadequate diets,and other factors that influence nutritional status,is the underlying factor in 45%child deaths.In Kenya only 25%of young children are fed adequately diverse diets.The main objective of this study was to prepare baby food formulas using finger millets with pigeon peas as protein source and to analyze their nutritional profiles.Two finger millets varieties(i)Snapping Green Early,low altitude and medium altitude varieties and(ii)U-15)were studied to determine effects of environment on nutrient profiles.This study showed that Snapping Green Early had better nutrient profiles(12.13%protein and is high in Ca,Mg,Fe,Zn and P)than U-15(11.69%protein and lower nutrients(Ca,Mg,Fe,Zn and P)),and hence was selected for use in the malting process as best variety.As expected,the pigeon peas had the highest protein value(21%).The samples malted for 72 h resulted in reduction of tannin concentration from 0.091%to 0.03%and the amount of nutrients(Ca,Mg,Fe and Zn)doubled and in fact the protein profile increased by 8.31%.The appropriate ratio for the formulation of the baby food was 70:30.The composting resulted in 18.5%increase in protein.

Nutrient Intake of Rural Households That Participated in a Farming System for Nutrition Study in India

Food based approach can prove effective in improving access and availability of nutrients from foods required for daily life where most of the people depend on agriculture for their livelihood. A study on feasibility of Farming Systems for Nutrition (FSN) approach was undertaken from 2013 to 2018 in a few villages of Koraput district, Odisha state and Wardha district, Maharashtra state in India. Interventions were done to increase crop diversity, intercropping of pulses and cereals, promotion of seasonal vegetables and fruits along with nutrition awareness. The endline survey showed increase in production diversity leading to improved household dietary diversity. This paper demonstrates the impact of FSN interventions on household nutrient intake. The results show that the intake of nutrients like protein, vitamin C, iron and calcium increased significantly in Koraput and all the nutrients including energy and vitamin A increased significantly in Wardha. The evidence shows that Farming System for Nutrition approach improves individual nutrient intake which in the long run can address the problem of undernutrition.