Evaluation of the Digestibility and Storage Stability of Infant Flours Based Plantain Bananas Enriched with Cashew Kernel and Baobab Leaves Powders

Abstract

Childhood malnutrition remains a persistent public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire, making the valorisation of local resources for the development of effective weaning foods a public health priority. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the nutritional potential and storage stability of plantain-based composite infant flours enriched with cashew kernel powder and baobab leaf powder. To this end, the nutritional quality of two formulations was assessed using two complementary approaches: enzymatic hydrolysis of the flours, evaluated in vitro using the digestive juice of the snail Achatina ventricosa as an enzymatic model, and growth trials conducted in vivo on young Wistar rats to determine protein efficiency and the actual digestive utilisation of the blends. The infant flours were packaged in polyethylene and polypropylene bags and stored either under refrigeration (4 °C) or at room temperature (25 °C). Moisture content, pH, and titratable acidity were measured fortnightly over a two-month period. The results revealed increased starch hydrolysis kinetics in the formulated flours, indicating high sensitivity to digestive enzymes. In addition, incorporation of these flours into the diets of young Wistar rats produced measurable in vivo weight gains (0.68 ± 0.58 g/day and 0.79 ± 0.30 g/day for A10PB and B10PB, respectively). The physicochemical properties of the flour samples were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by storage temperature and packaging material over the storage period; flours packaged in polyethylene bags and stored at room temperature (25 °C) exhibited the smallest variations.