Formulation and Optimization of Complementary Food Based on Its Nutritional and Antinutritional Analysis

Abstract

This study focuses on formulating and optimizing complementary foods using oat, yellow maize, chickpea, avocado pulp powder, and sugarcane Jaggery to obtain nutritious infant food. Different proportions of the composite food were optimized using Minitab v.19 software upon mixture design by keeping the constant amount of Jaggery (10%). The formulated composite foods had a better proximate composition, minerals, vitamins, and lower amounts of antinutrients. Most attributes have shown significant differences ( $p<0.05$ ) among those formulations. The better-optimized formulation is selected from nutritional and antinutritional values through overlaid contour design. The study concludes the optimal complementary food composition ratio: oat (40 g), chickpea (25.81 g), yellow maize (13.78 g), avocado powder (10.4 g), and Jaggery (10 g). Thus, the proposed formulated product becomes nutritious complementary food that may help children’s and medium-age hold communities.