Copyright © 2019 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA
International Journal of Food Nutrition and Safety, 2019, 10(1): 1-10
International Journal of Food Nutrition and Safety
Journal homepage: www.ModernScientificPress.com/Journals/IJFNS.aspx
ISSN: 2165-896X
Florida, USA
Article
The Nutritional, Mineral Composition and Growth Response of
Blended Infants and Weaning Foods Made From the
Combinations of Crayfish, Maize and Millet Grains
Aderonke Similoluwa Folorunso
1
, Sunday Adewale Akintelu
2*
and Abel Kolawole Oyebamiji
1,3
1
Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Louisiana, USA.
2
Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso,
Oyo State, Nigeria.
3
Department of Basic Sciences, Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: akintelusundayadewale@gmail.com
Article history: Received 20 February 2019, Revised 23 April 2019, Accepted 24 April 2019, Published
3 May 2019.
Abstract: Malnutrition is one of the major causes of illness among infants in Nigeria and
this result from poor weaning practice as a result of high cost of commercial weaning foods
available. The nutritional composition, mineral composition and growth response of blended
infants and weaning foods made from the combinations of crayfish, maize and millet grains
were investigated. The blended diet was made by blending powdered maize and millet grains
which sorted for stones, pebbles and other physical defects with crayfish that had been sorted
to remove stones and other unwanted particles such as hard bones and fish fingerlings and
were dry-milled. Fifty (50) weaning laboratory rats were purchased from the animal colony
of the Department of Physiology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso,
Oyo State, Nigeria for the purpose of this study. Their weights and ages were noted. The rats
were acclimatized and fed with normal diets for seven days before distribution into five
groups of ten rats in each cage. On the last day of the experiment, the weight of the rats were
recorded, the rats were dissected and the quality of protein in the blended diets was evaluated
by estimating the Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) and Food Efficiency Ratio (FER). The
compositions of mineral available in the blended diets were quantified using an atomic
absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The composition of nutrients in blended infant diets
were estimated using standard method. The results of ash, crude fibre, moisture, fat, protein,
carbohydrates, vitamin B, Vitamin C and energy kcal/100g ranged from 2.42-2.12; 0.80 -