ANTINUTRITIONAL CONTENT OF DEVELOPED WEANING FOODS AS AFFECTED BY DOMESTIC PROCESSING

Four weaning foods were formulated using locally available cereals and pulses such as wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare) and green gram (Vigna radiata). Cereals and pulses were used in the ratio 7:3. The effects of domestic processing such as roasting and malting on antinutrients such as phytic acid, saponin and polyphenols of weaning foods were studied. Roasting of raw ingredients resulted in 38.9 to 40.8%, 44.8 to 48.6% and 48.4 to 51.0% decrease in phytic acid, saponin and polyphenols, respectively, whereas malting brought about 56.6 to 57.6%, 53.9 to 57.7% and 61.2 to 62.7% decrease in phytic acid, saponin and polyphenols, respectively. Thus the study indicated that malting has a pronounced effect in lowering the antinutrients, while roasting was relatively less effective.