Amino Acid Profile/Score and In-vitro Protein Digestibility of Biscuits Produced from Wheat Flour, African Breadfruit Flour and Moringa Seed Flour Blends

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the Amino Acid profile/score and In-vitro protein digestibility of composite biscuits produced from blends of Wheat flour (WHF), African breadfruit flour (ABF)and Moringa seed flour(MSF) at the following ratios (Sample A: WHF 100%: ABF 0; MSF 0, B= WHF 77.5%:ABF 20%: MSF 2.5%, C=WHF 75%: ABF 20%: MSF 5.0%, D= WHF 72.5%: ABF 20%: MSF 7.5%. E = WHF 70%: ABF 20%: MSF 10%, F = WHF 90%: ABF 0: MSF 10%, G = WHF 80%: ABF 20%: MSF 0). The most predominant Amino Acid in ABF was glutamic (12.27 g/100 g) followed by Aspartic and lysine, with values of 8.96 g/100 g and 6.55 g/100 g, respectively. Glutamic Acid content of the biscuits ranged from 10.96 g/100 g – 12.96 g/100 g, with sample B giving significantly higher value. Substitution with MSF resulted in decreasing glutamic acid content levels in the formulated biscuits, while lysine, phenylalanine and Isoleucine improved with the addition of 10% Moringa seed flour. Amino acid Scores of the biscuits using Hen egg as standard showed that whole egg had a higher amino acid score except glycine (1.04 – 1.25). Percentage In-vitro protein digestibility ranged from 10.64% - 47.33%, showing that addition of moringa seed flour and African breadfruit flour improved digestibility values from 10.64% to 47.33% for sample E with the control sample (wheat flour biscuit) being significantly lower. Substitution with ABF and MSF improved protein digestibility of the produced biscuits. Also, the Amino acid scores of the formulated biscuits were higher than the FAO recommended daily dietary requirements for Amino acids.