Dados do Trabalho

Título

IRON AND ZINC OF AKARA MADE WITH BIOFORTIFIED COWPEA

Introdução

Cowpea bean is a legume highly consumed in Brazil, in the North and Northeast regions, and is considered an excellent source of protein, iron and zinc. The deficiency of these micronutrients mainly affects children and women from underserved regions. Biofortification of cowpea beans has been applied to produce foods with high nutritional content and the flour is used in different types of preparations, mainly to obtain akara and other products.

Material e Métodos

The determination of iron and zinc was carried out by ICP and quantification by Atomic Emission Spectrometry, with an Inductively Coupled Plasma source – ICP. All experiments were performed in 3 replications for each sample. The results were evaluated using the Variance Analysis (ANOVA), in a completely randomized design, to assess the presence of a significant effect (p ≤0.05). The Tukey Test was used to determine the differences among the averages.

Resultados e Discussão

BRS Xiquexique presented the best iron content (66.85 mg. Kg –1) followed BRS Aracê (54. 44 mg. Kg –1). The best zinc content was found in BRS Aracê (43.17 mg. Kg –1) and BRS Xiquexique (31.94 mg. Kg –1). Although there were significant differences (p < 0.05) among the iron and zinc, BRS Xiquexique stood out among them presenting the best relation ratio between of iron and zinc (2.08).

Conclusão

All biofortified akara samples are a viable alternative for enriching foods and obtaining akara with high nutritional value.