Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCES AND NUTRITION
Volume 63, Issue 8, Pages 957-963Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.3109/09637486.2012.687368
Keywords
availability; complementary/infant food; maize; mineral; phytate; sweetpotato
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Funding
- New Zealand International Aid and Development Agency (NZAID)
- Nutricia Research Foundation, the Netherlands [2011-30]
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The availability of micronutrients from sweetpotato-based complementary foods (CFs): oven-toasted and roller-dried ComFa, and from a maize-based infant food, enriched Weanimix, was compared using phytate/mineral molar ratios, polyphenols and beta-carotene levels. The phytate/calcium, iron and zinc molar ratios of approximately 0.17, 1 and 15 predict better absorption of calcium, iron and zinc respectively. Generally, the sweetpotato-based CFs had at least half the phytate/mineral ratios of enriched Weanimix. The phytate/iron ratio in both the sweetpotato-and the maize-based CFs was greater than 1. Only the ComFa formulations had phytate/zinc ratio lower than 15. The level of polyphenol (iron inhibitor) was similar for the formulations. Only the sweetpotato-based CFs contained measurable levels of beta-carotene, a possible iron enhancer. The lower phytate/mineral ratios and the beta-carotene level of the sweetpotato-based CFs suggest that calcium, iron and zinc absorption could be better from them than from the maize-based infant food.
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