Version 1
: Received: 15 May 2024 / Approved: 15 May 2024 / Online: 15 May 2024 (13:41:40 CEST)
How to cite:
Ngoma, T. N.; Taleon, V.; Mvumi, B.; Gama, A. P.; Palacios-Rojas, N.; Matumba, L. Whole Maize Flour for Better Food and Nutrition Security in Malawi. Preprints2024, 2024051048. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.1048.v1
Ngoma, T. N.; Taleon, V.; Mvumi, B.; Gama, A. P.; Palacios-Rojas, N.; Matumba, L. Whole Maize Flour for Better Food and Nutrition Security in Malawi. Preprints 2024, 2024051048. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.1048.v1
Ngoma, T. N.; Taleon, V.; Mvumi, B.; Gama, A. P.; Palacios-Rojas, N.; Matumba, L. Whole Maize Flour for Better Food and Nutrition Security in Malawi. Preprints2024, 2024051048. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.1048.v1
APA Style
Ngoma, T. N., Taleon, V., Mvumi, B., Gama, A. P., Palacios-Rojas, N., & Matumba, L. (2024). Whole Maize Flour for Better Food and Nutrition Security in Malawi. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.1048.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Ngoma, T. N., Natalia Palacios-Rojas and Limbikani Matumba. 2024 "Whole Maize Flour for Better Food and Nutrition Security in Malawi" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202405.1048.v1
Abstract
Maize is the staple cereal in Malawi, with a daily per capita consumption of 383g (dry matter basis), primarily consumed as dehulled maize flour used to cook nsima, a thick porridge. However, the extent of mass and nutrient loss during dehulling remains unclear in this food-insecure country, where the household maize harvest typically lasts only 6–7 months. In the current study, a milling experiment to determine yield and micronutrient losses was conducted. Milling batches (30 kg) of four maize grain varieties were dehulled at three abrasive disk dehullers under controlled conditions. Mass losses ranged from 18.8% to 42.7%, with a mean of 28.2±5.7%. Maize variety and dehuller significantly affected mass loss (p<0.05). Initial protein, iron, and zinc concentrations were 8.8 ±1.0 g/100g, 20.5±2.0 µg/g, and 18.2 ±2.6 µg/g, respectively. Post-dehulling nutrient true retention varied for protein (49.7% to 75.6%, mean=64.7±7.0%), iron (18.7% to 71.6%, mean=37.6±12.0 %), and zinc (11.0% to 46.2%, mean=27.9±8.7 %). Maize variety significantly influenced mass and protein loss (p < 0.05), while dehuller influenced mass, iron, and zinc losses. However, no significant difference (p > 0.05) was found in the interaction between dehullers and variety on mass and nutrient losses, respectively. Given Malawi's precarious food insecurity situation, transitioning from dehulled maize flour nsima to whole maize flour or less refined nsima, is imperative. Our study findings can have food and nutritional savings for other southern Africa countries where the dehulling practice is rampant.
Keywords
Dehulled maize flour; maize grain dehulling; mass and nutrient loss; food and nutrition security
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Other
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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