Abstract
Malnutrition and food insecurity are major public health problems in developing countries including Ethiopia. Because of an economic issue and information gap, developing countries' survival depends on foods rich in carbohydrates but deficient in protein and micronutrients. However, it is paramount to mix ingredients that complement different nutritional profiles to alleviate the problem of malnutrition. Hence, in this research, maize, orange-fleshed sweet potato, sweet lupine, and moringa leaf powder composites were used to develop nutritious instant porridge flour through extrusion cooking. Formulations containing powdered maize, orange-fleshed sweet potato, sweet lupine, and moringa leaf were developed in the following ratios: 100:0:0:0, 50:35:10:5, 45:30:15:10, and 40:25:20:15, respectively. A completely randomized design was used to determine the blending effect on the functional properties, proximate composition, minerals, and beta-carotene content of formulated instant porridge flour. Whereas, a randomized complete block design was used for the organoleptic characteristics data. Accordingly, the addition of orange-fleshed sweet potato, sweet lupine, and moringa leaf powder to maize-based porridge showed a significant (p < .05) increase in bulk density (0.70 ± 0.02 to 0.74 ± 0.03), water solubility index (10.09 ± 0.08 to 14.16 ± 0.23), protein (9.00 ± 0.00 to 21.10 ± 0.02), ash (1.43 ± 0.07 to 3.36 ± 0.08), fiber (1.55 ± 0.05 to 3.21 ± 0.01), fat (3.37 ± 0.02 to 5.37 ± 0.07), energy (370.89 ± 0.70 to 400.53 ± 0.65), vitamin A (0.00 to 41.00 ± 1.55), iron (3.49 ± 0.02 to 9.58 ± 0.29), zinc (2.89 ± 0.01 to 3.62 ± 0.06), and calcium (40.49 ± 0.42 to 113.34 ± 0.52) contents. However, water absorption index (4.76 ± 0.01 to 3.84 ± 0.01), moisture (8.50 ± 0.08 to 5.60 ± 0.04), and carbohydrate (76.11 ± 0.22 to 66.94 ± 0.02) content were decreased as a result of blending proportion compared to maize porridge (control). Formulated instant maize-based porridge prepared from 50% maize, 35% orange-fleshed sweet potato, 10% sweet lupine, and 5% moringa leaf powder scored the highest (above 4 out of 5 in a 5-point hedonic scale) in all sensory attributes. In conclusion, the addition of orange-fleshed sweet potato, sweet lupine flour, and moringa leaf powder has improved both macro- and micronutrients. Therefore, the development of nutritious maize-based instant porridge formulated from readily available and underutilized crops can be achieved by extrusion cooking that helps to reduce the prevalence of malnutrition and food insecurity.