Fatty acid,amino acid,and trace mineral analyses of five weaning foods from Jos,Nigeria

Five plant-based weaning foods (WF) (Dietrend, Jot-M, Soy, Ang and Vic-T) locallyprepared in Jos, Nigeria were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography,reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography, and atomicemission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma to determine theirfatty acid (FA), amino acid, and trace mineral contents, respectively.Results of these direct analyses were compared to expected values derivedfrom food composition tables prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Additionally, results were compared against recommendednutrient values, using breast milk as the standard for FA content andrecommended dietary allowances (RDA) for amino acid and mineral contents.The overall nutritional value of the five WF varied considerably and thequantities of particular nutrients determined by direct analysis differedmarkedly from those estimated using USDA food tables. Comparison of WFfatty acid composition relative to the RDA recommendations and a humanmilk standard revealed a much higher proportion of both linoleic (35–55wt%) and -linolenic acids (1%–7 wt%) relative to human milklipids (11%–12% and 0.8%–0.9% wt, respectively); however, the WFwere devoid of arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. Soy containedthe highest amounts of linoleic acid (59.7 mg/g) and -linolenicacid (7.46 mg/g) compared to the other four WF (10.2–41.0 and 0.35–3.18 mg/g, respectively). The linoleic acid/-linolenic acid ratio was within the recommended range (5:1 to 10:1) in only Jot-M (10:1)and Soy (8:1). Dietrend, Vic-T and Ang, containedlinoleic/-linolenic ratios of 12:1, 29:1, and 82:1, respectively.The Soy weaning food would provide the most protein (24.3 g/day), basedon an estimated daily intake of 65 g of weaning food by a normalsix-month-old infant, compared to Jot-M (11.9 g/day), Dietrend (11.7g/day), Ang (8.07 g/day) and Vic-T (7.26 g/day). The protein RDA forchildren up to 1 year of age is 13–14 g/day. Comparison of the mineralcontents of the WF to the RDAs for various minerals indicated that all fivewould provide suboptimal amounts of calcium (16 to 250 mg/day) andzinc (1.42 to 3.56 mg/day) compared to respective RDAs of400 mg/day and 5 mg/day.These data show that the Soy weaning food is an excellent source of linoleicacid and -linolenic acid, as well as being a good source of highquality protein. Jot-M and Dietrend provide useful amounts of the essentialFA; however, it is advisable to reevaluate the composition of Ang andVic-T to find ways to improve the linoleic/-linolenic ratio of eachand increase their total protein content. These results document theshortcomings of using published food composition tables based on foods inAmerica when devising weaning foods based on ingredients in another partof the world.