Sweetpotato-based complementary food would be less inhibitory on mineral absorption than a maize-based infant food assessed by compositional analysis

Abstract

The availability of micronutrients from sweetpotato-based complementary foods (CFs): oven-toasted and roller-dried ComFa, and from a maize-based infant food, enriched Weanimix, was compared using phytate/mineral molar ratios, polyphenols and β-carotene levels. The phytate/calcium, iron and zinc molar ratios of approximately 0.17, 1 and 15 predict better absorption of calcium, iron and zinc respectively. Generally, the sweetpotato-based CFs had at least half the phytate/mineral ratios of enriched Weanimix. The phytate/iron ratio in both the sweetpotato- and the maize-based CFs was greater than 1. Only the ComFa formulations had phytate/zinc ratio lower than 15. The level of polyphenol (iron inhibitor) was similar for the formulations. Only the sweetpotato-based CFs contained measurable levels of β-carotene, a possible iron enhancer. The lower phytate/mineral ratios and the β-carotene level of the sweetpotato-based CFs suggest that calcium, iron and zinc absorption could be better from them than from the maize-based infant food.

Keywords::

• availability
• complementary/infant food
• maize
• mineral
• phytate
• sweetpotato

Acknowledgements

We are indebted to New Zealand International Aid and Development Agency (NZAID) for the Common wealth PhD scholarship awarded to FKA. We acknowledge the Nutricia Research Foundation, the Netherlands for providing funds for this research (project number: 2011-30) and thank Delta Produce Co-op Ltd, Dargaville, New Zealand for providing the sweetpotato.

Declaration of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content of the paper.