Abstract

Composite flours containing 100:0, 85:15, 80:20 and 70:30 fermented maize and full fat soy flours, respectively were prepared. The effect of the soy flour supplementation on the proximate composition and nutritive values of the blends were evaluated. “Agidi”, a maize based fermented food product produced from the blends were subjected to sensory evaluation. The result shows higher protein contents (16:55, 20.63 and 20.77%) than the fermented maize used as control (8.92%). There were corresponding increases in the fat, ash and energy contents of the blends. The weight gains of the rats fed the diets containing 20 and 30% soy flour (2.25 and 2.30 g) and then protein efficiency ratio (PER) (2.00, 2.10) were not significantly different from those of casein (2.35 and 2.50 g, respectively) (P>0.05). No statistical differences were found for colour, consistency, flavour and overall acceptability among the “agidi” products (P>0.05). The blends containing 20 and 30% full fat soy flour were found to have the best potential for “agidi” production.

Key words: Proximate composition, composite flour, agidi, fermented food, sensory evaluation, nutritional evaluation.