Cassava roots are low in mineral contents and high in anti-nutritional factors of toxic compounds of hydrogen cyanide. The cassava based diet needed to supplement with cereal grains like teff to improve the nutritional values because teff had higher in iron content and had free hydrogen cyanide with respective to cassava varieties. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of blending cassava with teff on mineral contents and anti-nutritional factors. Cassava (Kello and Quelle varieties) was blended with teff at ratios of 10, 20 and 30%. A total of 7 products including the control (100% teff injera) with three replications were evaluated. Cassava varieties were found to cause significant differences on the quality of cassava-teff injera. The composite injeras of variety Kello were found having higher in Fe (28.3 mg/100g) and Ca (138.71 mg/100g) content. The higher anti-nutritional factors contents of the cassava-teff injera products were made with variety Quelle; showing value of 21.37, 100.7 and 0.41 mg/100g for tannin, phytic acid and cyanide, respectively. The mineral contents of the injera products also increased with decrease in cassava proportions, showing significant differences. The 10% cassava blend product resulted in averages of 31.71, 142.81 and 2.52 mg/100g of Fe, Ca and Zn, respectively. Anti-nutritional factors also decreased as the blending ratio of the cassava increased (except for cyanide). Since injera is the national staple food for more than 70% of Ethiopians, cassava is advisable to be included in daily diet plan for the production of cassava-teff injera.
Keywords: Anti-nutritional factors, Blending ratio, Cassava-teff injera, Cassava variety, Mineral Content