Infant food formulations based on cereals (millet, maize) and caterpillar powder (Imbrasia oyemensis): Nutritional composition and sensory evaluation

Malnutrition is a real public health problem, particularly in low-income households. Therefore, the objective of this work is to improve nutritional quality of complementary foods based on maize and millet flours intended for children during diversification period of low-income households. Thus, biochemical and phytochemical composition of ten cereal-based formulations (maize and millet) incorporated or not with Imbrasia oyemensis caterpillar powder were studied using standard and conventional methods. In addition, these formulations were subjected to a hedonic test by a panel of fifty people. It was found that incorporation of Imbrasia oyemensis powder improved contents of protein (11.97±0.03-16.4±0.03%), lipids (7.65±0.49-11.08±0.20%), ash (2.07±0.05-3.20±0.05%) and energy value (402.97±13.9- 483.63±35.71 kcal/100g) of maize (FMa0) and millet (FMi0) based flours. In addition, these formulations showed excellent contents of total polyphenols (160.19±2.80-256.16±0.00 mg/100g), flavonoids (10.95±0.07-25.64±0.15mg/100g) and tannins (109.45±0.68- 225.54±0.90 mg/100g). In addition, anti-nutritional contents such as phytates (97.24±0.08-128.60±0.08 mg/100g) and oxalates (215.81±1.67-370.65±9.29 mg/100g) are below the acceptable limit in human food. Thus, these incorporated formulations of Imbrasia oyemensis caterpillar powder were highly appreciated by panelists. Incorporation of Imbrasia oyemensis powder in maize and millet-based supplementary foods constitutes a cheaper and healthier alternative in children diet during diversification period of low-income households in Côte d'Ivoire.