Studies on weaning diets in Nigeria: 2 protein sources

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Agricultural Science

Background:

• Oilseed cakes (melon, groundnut, soybean) are potential sources for protein isolate extraction.
• Aqueous extraction systems can yield both oil and protein from oilseeds.
• Assessing the nutritional quality of plant-based protein isolates is crucial for food applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To extract and characterize protein isolates from melon, groundnut, and soybean cakes.
• To evaluate the nutritional quality of these protein isolates and cakes using a rat bioassay.
• To investigate the efficacy of different carbohydrate sources (breadfruit, cassava, corn starch) with protein isolates in rat diets and simulated weaning foods.

Main Methods:

• Protein isolates were extracted from melon, groundnut, and soybean cakes using an aqueous system.
• Protein content of isolates was determined.
• Rat bioassays were conducted to assess feed intake, weight gain, Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER), and Net Protein Ratio (NPR).
• Diets were formulated using cakes, isolates, and various carbohydrate sources (breadfruit, cassava, corn starch, sucrose).

Main Results:

• Protein isolate yields were 91.2% (melon), 78.6% (groundnut), and 79.5% (soybean).
• No significant differences in rat performance were observed between cakes and isolates, except for soybean.
• Cassava-soybean protein isolate diets yielded the highest weight gain, PER, and NPR, outperforming control diets.
• Melon protein isolate performed better with cassava and breadfruit than corn starch.
• A weaning diet based on cassava-soybean protein isolate outperformed a commercial product.
• Replacing sucrose and cassava with breadfruit in weaning diets resulted in a cost-effective formulation with good performance.

Conclusions:

• Soybean, melon, and groundnut protein isolates are nutritionally viable, with soybean showing particular promise.
• Cassava and breadfruit are effective carbohydrate sources when paired with plant-based protein isolates.
• Plant-based protein isolates can be utilized in weaning food formulations, offering potential alternatives to commercial products.