The effects of starter fermentation on the nutritional qualities of maize-tigernut fortified weaning foods were investigated. The dry-milled, malted maize grains fortified with dry-milled roasted tigernut flours (70:30) were subjected to 48 hrs of spontaneous and starter fermentation (singly and as combined starters). Nutritional, sensory characteristics and feeding trials of the weaning foods were evaluated. Four fermented weaning blends were formulated: FMT (spontaneously fermented maize-tigernut), SFMT1 (Lactobacillus plantarum F2C fermented maize-tigernut), SFMT2 (Lactobacillus plantarum U2A fermented maize-tigernut) and SFMT3 (combined starter-fermented maize-tigernut). SFMT2 had the highest crude protein, fat, fibre, ash and least carbohydrate content among the blends. The highest energy content (456.84 Kcal/100 g) was observed in blend SMFT2 which was also higher than that of both negative (Nutrend) and positive (Conventional animal feed) controls. The least antinutrient and vitamin contents were recorded in SFMT2. Blend SFMT1 had the highest Vitamin B1 (0.67 mg/100 g), Vitamin A (472.60 ug/100 g), phosphorus (75.45 mg/100 g) and zinc (1.05 mg/100 g) contents while the highest calcium (17.17 mg/100 g) and iron (22.82 mg/100 g) were recorded in SFMT2. Sample SFMT2 was rated the highest in all of the sensory characteristics except colour and the highest overall acceptability (6.00) which was not different significantly from all other starter produce blends. Biological evaluation showed blend SFMT2 fed animals having the highest weight by 28 days (73.14 g), mean weight gain (5.46 g), mean feed intake (18.71 g) and mean protein efficiency ratio PER (3.65). However, all the PER values including that of controls (2.30) were higher than the value of 2.10 recommended by the Protein Advisory Group (PAG) for complementary foods. The RBC, WBC and PCV of the trial groups were within the rat hematologic reference ranges. Blend SFMT2 (L. plantarum U2A fermented blend) gave the best performance after rat feeding trials.
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