Development and acceptability of pigeon peas based products for improving nutritional status of school children in Singida region, Tanzania

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Date

2021

Journal Title

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Volume Title

Publisher

sokoine university of agriculture

Abstract

Background: In Tanzania, malnutrition among school children is still a major public health problem. Moreover, grain legumes occupy an important place in children of school-age. This study reports on the prevalence of undernutrition, development and acceptability of formulated pigeon peas biscuits, African doughnut and pigeon buns. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was done which included two designs; Qualitative design included focus group discussions with 48 farmers to determine the utilization of pigeon peas. Quantitative design with the laboratory phase and community survey; For laboratory experiments, biscuits, African doughnut and pigeon pea buns were developed, proximate analysis, vitamin and minerals analysis was determined for the raw and formulated products. Sensory evaluation to assess consumer acceptability and preferences was done which involved 76 school children aged 5- 12 years. Furthermore, 384 pupils were involved in the assessment of nutritional status in which standard procedures were used to measure weight and height, also 32 parents were involved in the provision of promotional materials and cooking demonstrations. Results: Selling was the major form of utilization of pigeon peas in the study area. All the formulated products had the protein, cabohydrates and minerals content which are within the recommended dietary allowance of school-age children. In the study area, the prevalence of wasting in school children was 8.9% and stunting was 18.8%. The biscuits which had a high amount of pigeon peas were highly preferred than any other products, and it was observed that all the attribute aroma, colour, taste and overall acceptability of the products were significantly different (P≤0.05) in all formulated products. Conclusion: The prevalence of undernutrition among school children was high in Singida region, the formulated pigeon peas-based products can be used to reduce the burden of malnutrition in this area. To establish a causal relationship between formulated pigeon peas products and nutritional status longitudinal design should be done in future studies.

Description

Dissertation

Keywords

Pigeon peas, Nutritional status, Vitamin and minerals, analysis Material and methods

Citation