Possibility of Child Food Supplement Production to Basis of Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)

Abstract

Children’s feeding at the age of weaning remains a major concern in all countries of the world and particularly in developing countries like Benin. In order to valorize our resources and contribute to malnutrition reduction in Benin, an alimentary supplement has been elaborated with the flour of a fermented fruit issued from a breadfruit tree. The results of physicochemical analysis revealed that this fruit had a nutritional composition of 4.2% in protein, 0.11% in crude fat, 1.8% in ash content, 712.971 mg/g in iron content, 0.099% in calcium content and 0.125% in magnesium content. The experiments of the various formulations enabled us to stop those made up of 55% of the flour of the breadfruit, 30% of the flour of soybeans and 15% of the flour of the malted sorghum. The results of analysis showed that the retained formulation presented some contents in macro nutriments comparable to those of the norm on infantile flours. It contained 18.5% of protein and 16.3% of fat matter. The energizing value of our flour is of 456.5 Kcal/100g. It was consistent with standard values of complementary weaning food recommended by FAO/OMS/UNICEF. Microbiological analysis revealed that there is no formulation of flour, which contains total coliform or thermotolerant coliforms. It’s free of pathogens microorganisms such as Escherichia coli type and Salmonella.