Sumain nutritional supplement: Formulation, physico-chemical and nutritional assessment of its flour

The paper reports in-part results of long-term study to investigate potential health benefits of SNS in improving diet quality to reverse severe catabolic stress in subjects with protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and immune crisis. SNS was formulated as composite flour using yellow soyabean, red-skin groundnut, white sorghum, white and yellow maize seeds in ratio 4:2:3:2:2. Soaking and/or dehulling, toasting, and milling were initial major treatments given to each seed-type. The SNS sample was quantified for proximate composition, phytochemicals, anti-nutrients, minerals, vitamins, fatty acid and amino acid profiles using appropriate standard methodologies. SNS had dry 97% matter content, 464 kcal/100g gross energy, 19% crude fat, 33% crude protein, and 2% ash. Prevalent phenolic compounds (gallic acid, quercitin, catechin, tannins) and alkaloids (saponin, phytate, glycyrrhizic acid) were low (5 – 18 mg%) while oxalate was 76 mg%; appreciable amounts of macro-elements (Na, K, Mg, P, and Ca) as 6 – 17 mg%, trace elements (Mn 159, Zn 164, and Fe 260 µg/g) and pro-vitamin A, vitamins B6, B12 and C. SNS contained high quality fatty acids (PUFA/SFA = 3.22 against expected > 0.4, and ω6/ω3 = 0.71 against expected < 4.0 in conformance with FAO/WHO. Compared with soya bean and groundnut, four ‘semi-essential’ amino acids (glutamine, glycine, proline, alanine) and four essential amino acids (leucine, tryptophan, phenylalanine and isoleucine) were significantly higher (p<0.05); latter were higher than required by FAO/WHO (p<0.05). Conclusively, SNS was a potential food supplement. Report on in vivo studies was recommended to support the present proposition.