Abstract

The cooking banana and bambara ground nut were processed into flour, mixed in ratios of 90:10, 80:20, 70:30 and 60:40 respectively and chemical, functional and sensory properties were evaluated. The protein contents of formulated samples were significantly higher than ogi, but lower than nutrend (p < 0.05). Also, the energy values of CBR₄ (384.4 ± 0.3 kcal.) was significantly lower than the nutrend (397.1 ± 1.8 kcal.) (p < 0.05) and there was no significant difference with the ogi (383.1 ± 0.1 kcal.) (p < 0.05). The mineral composition of CBR₄ had the highest amount of calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, sodium and phosphorous when compared with other formulated food samples. The CBR₄ had the highest water absorption capacity, least gelation capacity and swelling capacity, while CBR₁ had the least values of the formulated food samples. The overall acceptability of the formulated food samples were significantly lower than the ogi and nutrend (p < 0.05). The amount of CBR₃ and CBR₄ needed to meet the RDA for energy, protein and minerals of infant were comparable with that of nutrend, but lower than ogi. The study concluded that the nutrient composition of CBR₄ was better than ogi, but lower than nutrend. Hence, it may be used as a substitute for ogi and the expensive commercial weaning formula.

Key words: Chemical composition, functional properties, cooking banana, bambara groundnut, infant mix.