NUTRITIONAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF TAMARIND SEED FORTIFIED CORN FLOUR
Kisembe Steven Wakoli, Nkirigacha Evlyne Muthoni, Mbogoh Patricia Mwaka, Kadere Titus Tunje
Kisembe Steven Wakoli: Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, Technical University of Mombasa, Kenya.
Nkirigacha Evlyne Muthoni: Department of Food Nutrition and Dietetics, Pwani University, Kenya.
Mbogoh Patricia Mwaka: Department of Food Nutrition and Dietetics, Pwani University, Kenya.
Kadere Titus Tunje: Department of Pure and Applied Sciences, Technical University of Mombasa, Kenya.
ABSTRACT
Food fortification involves the addition of micronutrients to foods and is an intervention used for the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies worldwide. This study developed a tamarind seed fortified corn flour and assessed the nutritional and microbial safety properties. Ten samples of de-husked maize flour were randomly selected from five maize millers located within Kongowea in Mombasa County. The seeds were dried at 100°C for 30 minutes in a hot air oven, roasted at 180Oc for 20 minutes, de-husked manually, then ground to a fine powder in an electric grinder. The milled maize flour was mixed with inclusions of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% of the tamarind powder. Samples were subjected to proximate analysis, minerals assayed by ICP-OES and aflatoxin test using ELISA. Data was analyzed using SPSS and mean differences; post ANOVA test was done using the least squares differences (LSD) method. The results for proximate analysis were 12.48% moisture content, 2.26% fiber, 15.36% protein, 0.68% ash, 23.07 ppm iron and 17.66 ppm zinc. The results for aflatoxin in the blended flour samples were 11.28 ppb. Tamarind has the capacity to diversify the livelihood through value addition and product development. Fortification of corn flour with tamarind seed can provide a sustainable alternative to the current approach of chemical fortification.
Keywords: Fortification, De-husked maize, Tamarind seed.