Nutritional Composition, Antioxidant and Sensory Properties of a Maize-based Snack (Kokoro) Enriched with Defatted Sesame and Moringa Seed Flour

Kokoro, a maize-based snack was made from maize flour and supplemented with Moringa
seed flour (MSS) and defatted sesame flour (DSF) flours with the aim of improving its nutritional quality. An experimental design was carried out using optimal mixture model of response surface methodology which yielded 16 formulations in which three blends in terms of the best proximate composition and the control sample (100% maize) were selected. The snacks were analyzed for proximate, mineral, amino acid composition, sensory and antioxidant properties. Proximate analysis results showed significant (p<0.05) increase in protein (9.25–24.23%), fat (15.07–35.25%), ash (2.25–4.25%) content, and energy value (508.43–607.71 KJ/ g), while crude fiber (7.58–5.80%), moisture (4.58-3.64%) and carbohydrate (61.27–26.83%) content decreased with inclusion of MSF and DSF. Potassium (4.02-5.03mg/100 g) was the predominant mineral, followed by calcium (3.31-5.41mg/100 g) and potassium (1.67-3.75mg/100 g). Glutamic acid was the most abundant non–essential amino acids while leucine was the predominant essential amino acid in the enriched “kokoro”. There was an increase in the amino acid content (except for aspartic acid, arginine and histidine) of the kokoro samples as the proportions of MSF and DSF increased. The result also showed that the essential amino acid index, predicted biological value, protein efficiency ratio and nutritional index of the enriched kokoro were higher than the control sample with values ranging from 0.6108-0.8944, 54.88-85.79%, 1.63-3.49g/100g and 5.65-21.67%, respectively. The result also showed that there was a significant (p<0.05) increase in the flavonoid, phenolic content and DPPH of the kokoro as supplementation with MSF and DSF increased. The control sample compared favourably with kokoro supplemented with 6.25% and 17.5% MSF and DSF, respectively, in terms of sensory evaluation. Hence, acceptable and nutritious kokoro snacks from this blend can be formulated which could enhance the nutritional wellness of consumers.