Amos Kipkemoi Ronoh

Due to the increase in the rate of non-communicable diseases, consumers are becoming more health-conscious, and there is an increased demand for highly nutritious diets. Yacon is a sweet-tasting Andean tuber considered a functional food due to its bioactive compounds, such as fructooligosaccharides. Yacon has been used to formulate many products, including yacon sweets, cupcakes with yacon flour and snacks made with yacon and banana flours, among others. There is limited research on the use of yacon to formulate energy bars. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physico-chemical, sensory and microbial qualities of yacon-based oatmeal energy bars. Energy bars were made using four oats-to-yacon powder mixtures in the following proportions: 100:00 (control), 95:5, 85:15, 75:25 and 60:40; a completely randomised design was used. Substituting oats with yacon powder led to a significant increase in ash, fibre and carbohydrate content and a decrease in moisture, protein, fat and total energy. The decrease in fat was desirable. The addition of 40% yacon powder led to a 67% decrease in fat content compared to the 100% oats energy bar. Yacon powder also led to a significant increase in polyphenol content, antioxidant activity, calcium and potassium. Polyphenol content increased by 33%, as compared to a 100% oats energy bar, with the addition of 40% yacon powder. There was a significant decrease in flavonoid content with increased yacon powder. This could be attributed to the processing conditions. On physical properties, pH and texture decreased while water activity and bulk density increased; low pH guarantees a long shelf-life. Consumer acceptability tests showed significant differences for all attributes except aroma, highlighting the treatment with 60:40 oats:yacon flour as having the highest scores for all attributes and intent to purchase. The energy bars were microbiologically safe, with yeast and moulds detected after 30 days. The yeast and moulds detected were below the standard limit (<100CFU/g), thus safe. Based on the results, making the energy bars with oats and yacon powder can be a great alternative use of the Andean tuber. It not only offers nutritional benefits but also microbial safety and satisfactory sensory characteristics. Key words: Yacon, Energy bar, fructooligosaccharides, Physico-chemical, Oats

Cancer burden remain unacceptably high with global incidence of 19.3 Million and 10million cancer mortalities according to the 2020 global cancer estimates. There has been notable improvement in cancer care in Kenya with Chemotherapy being one of the most common and effective treatment modalities available. However, Chemotherapy is associated with Nutrition Impact Symptoms commonly referred to as the chemotherapy side effects, which include nausea, vomiting, sore throat and lack of appetite. However, the link between these side effects and dietary intake is not well studied. This study aimed at assessing the Nutrition Impact Symptoms and their contribution to the dietary intake and the nutrition status of cancer patients above 18 years of age, in Nyeri County Referral Hospital using analytical cross-sectional study design. A researcher administered questionnaire was used to collect data on the Nutrition Impact Symptoms, 24-hour recall and a Food Frequency Questionnaire was used to collect the dietary data and the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) was used to screen for the risk of malnutrition. Dietary data was analyzed using Nutri-Survey and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Sixty one percent of the respondents were female while 39% were male. Breast cancer was the most common cancer type in the population (39%), followed by esophageal and throat cancer at 14.5% and gastric cancer at 14%. Prostate cancer was the most prevalent among the male respondents at 11%. Nutrition Impact Symptoms that were reported include loss of appetite (72.1%), vomiting (55.8%), nausea (52.9%), diarrhea (39%), constipation (34.3%) and sore throat (8.1%), swallowing difficulties (0.6%), Pica (5.2%) and general body fatigue (9.3%). Unhealthy dietary patterns associated with the Nutrition Impact Symptoms include skipping meals, (69.2%), taking less than usual quantities of food than normal (71.5%), taking more food than normal quantities when not having side effects (8.7%), avoiding solid foods when symptoms are present (39%) and not eating at all 36.6%. Using the MUST, more than half (51.7%) of the respondents were at a high risk of developing malnutrition, followed by low risk (32.6%) with only 15.7% respondents being at a medium risk of malnutrition. Nutrition Impact Symptoms influence the dietary patterns of the cancer patients, which in turn contributes to the risk of malnourishment. Improving the Nutrition and health outcomes of cancer patients requires behavior change interventions that target the knowledge, attitude and practices of the patients towards the appropriate dietary patterns while on Chemotherapy.

Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is a persistent public health challenge in most developing countries. This study investigated the protein nutritional value of wheat and wheat-sorghum biscuits fortified with longhorn grasshopper (Ruspolia differens) to determine their suitability as a supplementary food. Fourteen diets were fed to male weanling Sprague-Dawley rats, including 11 isonitrogenous diets with 10% protein prepared from 10 biscuit variations and skimmed milk powder as a reference, 1 protein-free diet, and 2 rehabilitation diets made with wheat and wheat-sorghum biscuits fortified with 40% Ruspolia differens powder (RDP). The protein efficiency ratio, food efficiency ratio, true and apparent protein digestibility, and net protein retention ratio results for the fortified biscuit diets were all negative, with the exception of wheat biscuits supplemented with RDP 40%. The isonitrogenous diets maintained the rats with no substantial weight gain or loss. Rats on rehabilitation diets gained weight rapidly, by 61% and 69% for wheat-sorghum and wheat diets, respectively. Weight increase during rehabilitation was considerably higher (P < 0.05) by 50% and 54.6% in wheat-sorghum and wheat diet groups compared to normal growth phases. The rehabilitated rats had a greater percentage of body weight than the experimental groups. The protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of fortified biscuits ranged from 26% to 33% for wheat biscuits and 22% to 32% for wheat-sorghum biscuits. The digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) of the fortified biscuits varied from 47% to 60% for wheat biscuits and 44% to 60% for wheat-sorghum biscuits. As a result, the fortified biscuits fell short of the minimum requirements of 70% for PDCAAS and 75% for DIAAS in fortified protein diets. Furthermore, it appears that substituting 10% RDP to wheat-sorghum and wheat biscuits does not promote rat growth. Fortification with 40% RDP, on the other hand, dramatically improves rat’s growth and rehabilitation. Because of their high protein nutritional content, the biscuits fortified with 40% RDP could be used as a supplementary to help rehabilitate malnourished children.

This study aimed at improving the nutrient composition and protein quality of biscuits made from sorghum and wheat through fortification with Longhorn Ruspolia differens powder (RDP) for use as a supplementary food targeting children vulnerable to protein–energy malnutrition (PEM). Ten biscuit formulations were prepared by replacing a part of wheat and sorghum–wheat flours with 5, 15, 20, and 40% RDP. To establish the nutrient content of biscuits, proximate and mineral compositions were determined. The amino acid composition, reactive lysine and in vitro protein digestibility were determined for protein quality. Compositing wheat or wheat–sorghum biscuits with RDP increased the protein, fat, ash, and crude fiber by percentages as high as 118, 37, 133, and 573%, respectively. Mineral content increased with, iron, zinc, and potassium as high as 161, 219, and 169%, respectively. The lysine, reactive lysine and in vitro protein digestibility of the fortified biscuits increased significantly, relative to the 100% cereal biscuits. Fortification with RDP significantly improved the amino acid content of the biscuits but had a marginal effect on improvement of the lysine score and did not meet the reference pattern for children aged 3–10 years. The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of wheat–sorghum and wheat biscuits improved by 6% to 47% and 2% to 33%, respectively, compared to the control biscuits. The fortified biscuits were liked by the consumers. The RDP‐fortified biscuits have the potential to alleviate PME in developing countries.

The excessive application of mineral fertilizers in maize cultivation leads to progressive soil contamination in the long term and increases the cost of production. An alternative to reduce over-fertilization is to perform a partial replacement with microbes that promote nutrition and growth, such as Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF). A pot experiment which was followed by two field experiments was performed with and without the application of indigenous AMF in combination with five nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium (NPK) fertilization rates (100% NPK = N120P60K60; 75% NPK = N90P45K45; 50% NPK = N60P30K30; 25% NPK = N30P15K15; control = N0P0K0). The objective was to investigate whether the soil application of indigenous mycorrhizal fungi inoculum combined with NPK fertilization can provide higher maize yields and soil-available N, P, and K than chemical fertilization can alone. The greenhouse results showed that the application of AMF with a 50% NPK treatment significantly increased the plant’s growth, root colonization, leaf chlorophyll content, and N, P, and K tissue content. The results from the field conditions showed that there was a highly significant yield after the treatment with AMF + 50% NPK. The study also revealed that mycorrhizal fungi inoculation increased the available soil N and P concentrations when it was combined with a 50% NPK dose. This suggests that the inoculation of fields with AM fungi can reduce the chemical fertilizer application by half, while improving soil chemistry. The results suggested that AMF inoculation can be used in integrated soil fertility management strategies.