Effect Of Processing Method On The Proximate Composition, Mineral Content And Antinutritional Factors Of Taro ( Colocasia Esculenta , L.) Grown In Ethiopia

Although taro is widely grown in Ethiopia, it is an underutilized crop and little is known about its proximate and micro-element composition and the antinutritional factors of the raw, boiled and fermented products. Boiling and fermentation processing techniques are widely used in the country, especially within the rural community of the Southern region where the crop grows widely. A cultivar of taro grown in the country was analyzed for proximate and mineral composition and antinutritional factors. An investigation was also made on the effects of boiling and fermentation on the nutritional contents. Protein, fat, fiber, total ash and utilizable carbohydrates, respectively were found to be 6.43, 0.47, 2.63, 4.82 and 85.65%, while the Gross Energy was 372.55 Kcal/100g. The contents of the micronutrients namely: Fe, Zn, Mg, Ca, Na, P and Mn were 5.86, 43.08, 7.24, 45.23, 13.81, 7.77 and 3.61 mg/100g, respectively. Phytate for the raw product was 115.43 while oxalate and tannin were 243.06 and 47.69 mg/100g, respectively. Cyanide was not detected in all the samples. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the contents of the proximate and mineral composition and antinutritional factors during boiling and fermentation. The protein content was lower by 9.37% and 8.46%, respectively, in the boiled and fermented products, under the sampling and processing conditions used in the study. The crude fat content was significantly different (p < 0.05) from the crude fat content of the boiled product which was 0.87%. On the other hand, analysis of variance conducted showed that the fiber content of raw sample was significantly different from the fermented samples. Fermentation resulted in a lower level of fiber which was 6.44% and phytates of about 84.75%. Boiling of taro resulted in a higher value of oxalate (70.9%). The data presented in this paper provide an evidence of the potential of Boloso I (which is one variety of taro) to serve as a nutrient dense product for the Ethiopian population provided that the techniques of its processing are optimized

Evaluation of energy, protein, and selected micronutrient density of homemade complementary foods consumed by children between 6 months and 23 months in food insecure woredas of Wolayita zone, Southern Ethiopia

Motuma Adimasu Abeshu,1,2 Abdulaziz Adish,3 Gulelat D Haki,4 Azeb Lelisa,5 Bekesho Geleta6 1John Snow, Inc, 2Addis Ababa University, Center for Food Science and Nutrition, 3Micronutrient Initiative Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 4Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana; 5Micronutrient Initiative Ethiopia, 6Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Abstract: Complementary feeding should be timely, adequate, and given in a way that is appropriate for the age of the child, applying responsive feeding to fill the gap between what is provided by breastfeeding and the total nutritional requirements of the infant. The purpose of this&nbsp;study was to assess nutrient composition and evaluate adequacy of observed nutrient densities (energy, protein, calcium [Ca], iron [Fe], and zinc [Zn]) in homemade complementary foods for children of age 6&ndash;23&nbsp;months, in comparison to the desired levels in food insecure woredas of the Wolayita zone, Southern Ethiopia. A cross-sectional weighed food record method was&nbsp;used to assess the energy and micronutrient compositions of homemade complementary foods and evaluate adequacy of observed nutrient densities in relation to the desired levels. Multistage sampling was used to locate the children. Observation and measurement of complementary food preparations throughout the day was made. Representative portions from the diets were sampled for further laboratory analysis and to evaluate adequacy of observed nutrient levels. More than 20 different complementary food types (mostly an extension of family foods) prepared from various food items were observed. Dietary diversity of the foods was very poor. The average dietary diversity score was only 2.54, while animal-source foods and vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables were virtually absent. The energy and protein compositions of the diets, however, were sufficient. Energy density of 0.92&nbsp;kcal/g, 1.24&nbsp;kcal/g, and 1.41&nbsp;kcal/g and protein density of 3.41&nbsp;g/kcal, 2.18&nbsp;g/kcal, and 2.48&nbsp;g/kcal were observed in the diets of 6&ndash;8-month, 9&ndash;11-month, and 12&ndash;23-month age categories, respectively. The diets were poor in micronutrients. The observed nutrient density for Ca and Zn (mg/100&nbsp;kcal) was significantly lower (P=0.000) than the desired levels. Similarly, the Fe level in the diets for 6&ndash;11&nbsp;month old children was significantly lower than the desired nutrient density levels even when high bioavailability was accounted for. On the contrary, adequate nutrient density in the diets for 12&ndash;23&nbsp;month old &shy;children was observed even when low bioavailability for Fe was accounted for. The complementary foods were energy dense. Micronutrients densities observed (Ca, Zn, and Fe), however, were very low as they continue to be the &ldquo;problem nutrients&rdquo;. Keywords: food insecure, nutrient density, homemade, estimated daily nutrient intak

A Computational Library Design Protocol for Rapid Improvement of Protein Stability:FRESCO

The ability to stabilize enzymes and other proteins has wide-ranging applications. Most protocols for enhancing enzyme stability require multiple rounds of high-throughput screening of mutant libraries and provide only modest improvements of stability. Here, we describe a computational library design protocol that can increase enzyme stability by 20–35 °C with little experimental screening, typically fewer than 200 variants. This protocol, termed FRESCO, scans the entire protein structure to identify stabilizing disulfide bonds and point mutations, explores their effect by molecular dynamics simulations, and provides mutant libraries with variants that have a good chance (&gt;10%) to exhibit enhanced stability. After experimental verification, the most effective mutations are combined to produce highly robust enzymes