Snack bars from African breadfruit maize and coconut composite flour

What is it about?

Snack bars are often made from cereals, nuts and dried fruits using glucose as a binder. They are good sources of nutrients and energy. In this research, snack bars were made from underutilized African bread fruit flour (AFB), maize flour (M) and coconut grits. AFB and maize flour were blended at different ratios, while coconut grit was included at 5% level. The snack bars contained 16-22% protein; 3-5% ash; 7-8% fat 10-18% fibre; 42-60% carbohydrate and 335- 370 Kcal/100g of energy. The antinutrient contents of the snack bars (tannins, trypsin inhibitors, saponins and phytates were low and within the safe limit for human consumption. The microbial quality of the snack bars indicated that they were wholesome (Total viable count of 0.29-0.51 x 102 cfu/g; mould count of 0.18-0.48 x 102 and no coliforms). The snack bar containing 20 % African breadfruit flour, 5% coconut grits and 75% maize flour was the most preferred by the panelists and was rated better than snack bars from maize and coconut grits alone as well as African breadfruit and coconut grits alone.

Featured Image

Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash

Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Ready to eat nutritious snack bars could be made from under utilized African bread fruit, maize and coconut grits