Growth performance of rats fed raw and extruded African breadfruit‐based complementary diets: A response surface analysis

Abstract BACKGROUND: African breadfruit, from which diverse food forms are produced, is popular in most West African tropical regions. The present study is part of a larger research project aimed at developing appealing, processed, nutritious products from blends of breadfruit, corn and defatted soybean by utilising extrusion cooking using response surface analysis. The study describes the ability or otherwise of raw and extruded African breadfruit‐based diets, similar to weaning diets simulated with rats, to support growth of children and infants. RESULTS: Maximum protein efficiency and net protein ratios of 2.22 and 3.69, respectively, were obtained with rats fed diets made from 40 g 100 g −1 African breadfruit + 5 g 100 g −1 corn + 55 g 100 g −1 soybean extrudates at 18 mL 100 mL −1 feed moisture and 140 rpm screw speed. It compared favourably with a casein standard and was 54–69% and 42–55% higher than those fed raw diets. CONCLUSION: Extrusion cooking significantly improved the nutritional quality of African breadfruit–corn–defatted soybean as reflected in their protein efficiency and net protein values. The superiority in protein quality of diet 1 (containing 40 g 100 g −1 breadfruit, 5 g 100 g −1 corn and 55 g 100 g −1 defatted soybean) over the other experimental diets has serious nutritional implication in dietary diversification to address protein‐energy malnutrition prevalent in Nigeria and other West African countries especially where African breadfruit is known to be highly cultivated as a food resource. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry