Multivariate optimization approach for formulation of malted Rice flour-based weaning mix and its rheological...

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Nutritional Science
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Developing nutritious weaning foods is crucial for infant health.
• Wild bananas (Bhim kol) offer unique nutritional potential for food products.
• Optimization techniques are vital for creating effective food formulations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an energy-dense weaning food using malted rice flour and wild banana (Bhim kol).
• To optimize the formulation using a D-optimal mixture design approach.
• To evaluate the nutritional and digestibility properties of the developed weaning food.

Main Methods:

• Utilized D-optimal mixture design for multivariate optimization.
• Formulated weaning food with malted rice flour, Bhim kol, and other ingredients.
• Assessed energy content, essential amino acid profile, and starch digestibility (>70%) at particle sizes of 75 and 105 microm.
• Analyzed rheological properties using the Power law model.

Main Results:

• The optimized formulation (WF 10%, RF 10%, BG 10%, WMP 35%, fruit 30%, MR 5%, with 10% refined vegetable oil) showed high energy density.
• The food met 33.087% of essential amino acids.
• High starch digestibility (>70%) was confirmed in a simulated digestive system.
• The formulation exhibited shear-thinning behavior (flow behavior index n < 1), fitting the Power law model.

Conclusions:

• D-optimal mixture design is effective for optimizing weaning food formulations.
• The developed weaning food is energy-dense, nutritionally adequate, and highly digestible.
• This approach can be applied to optimize various weaning food formulations with different variables.