Impact of provitamin A in mango mesocarp flour in complementary food fed to rats and its acceptability by human

 Badifu*¹, G. I. O. and  Ilochi, J. C.
 College of Food Technology
 Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture,
 P. M. B. 2373, Makurdi, Nigeria

Local varieties of white maize grains, soyabean and mesocarp from moderately ripe mango fruits were processed separately, into flours. Some of the chemical constituents of the flours were evaluated to determine their micronutrient contents.  Diets (blends) comprising 70% maize, 30% soyabean flours, which served as control (MS). 50% maize, 25% soyabean and 25% mango flours (MSM₁) and 55% maize.  25% soyabean and 20% mango flours (MSM₂) were prepared, fed to rats and part used for sensory evaluation. 

Maize was relatively low in protein (11.4%) but adequate in oil, ash, fibre, carbohydrate, provitamin A and energy whereas soyabean was high in protein (35.0%) and adequate in other nutrients save carbohydrate. Mango flour was high in provitamin A (227µg/100g) but low in protein (3.5%). The mineral constituents of the flours were reasonable from nutrient viewpoint. The food intake of the rats was more with mango-containing diets (MSM₁ and MSM₂) than the mango-free diet (MS).  The fed rats gained weight with a maximum increase of 17.9%.  The liver and serum vitamin A levels of the rats fed with mango-containing diet increased significantly (P<0.05).  Based on the control diet (MS), the liver vitamin A increases were 50.6% for MSM₁ diet and 44.7% MSM₂ diets.  Similarly, the serum vitamin A increased by 15.1% and 16.4% with MSM₁ and MSM₂ diets, respectively. The addition of mango mesocarp flour enhanced the vitamin A status of the rats. The results suggested a good bioavailability and bioconversion of provitamin A present in mango mesocarp to vitamin A in the body system of the test rats.  The porridge or gruel prepared from the blends (diets) enjoyed consumer acceptance, particularly, among the target groups (mothers and pre-school children – 6 to 48 months) in the communities of study. Further investigations in our laboratory are still in progress.

Keywords:        Complementary food, provitamin A, rats, liver and serum vitamin A levels, sensory evaluation.