Child acceptability of a novel provitamin A carotenoid, iron and zinc-rich complementary food blend prepared from pumpkin and common bean in Uganda: a randomised control trial

Vitamin-A enriched yogurt through fortification of pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima): A potential alternative for preventing blindness in children

Vitamin-A deficiency associated with night blindness in children is a global health problem that could be prevented or reduced by promoting the intake of β-carotene in food. The fortification of β-carotene in yogurt using pumpkin flesh (PF) could be a very cost-effective public health intervention. The current study aimed to analyze the proximate, functional, microbial, textural, and sensory properties of yogurt fortified with PF to evaluate its suitability as a β-carotene enriched food. The research was conducted with three treatments, control set-type yogurt (CSY) with no PF, 15% PF-fortified set-type yogurt (15PFSY), and 20% PF-fortified set-type yogurts (20PFSY) followed by pumpkin pie spice and ground pumpkin seed to improve consumer acceptability. The fortified yogurt with 20PFSY and 15PFSY contained a higher amount of β-carotene, protein, fiber, and ash, and lower carbohydrate, fat, and energy in compression with CSY, which might attract health-conscious people. In addition, viable bacterial count, firmness, consistency, cohesiveness, and viscosity index were found better in fortified yogurt. Based on reports of sensory panellists, 15PFSY achieved a significantly (p < 0.01) highest overall acceptability than 20PFSY and CSY. These findings suggest that pumpkin-fortified yogurt could be used widely as a nutrient-enriched fermented food. In addition, as a β-carotene (vitamin-A) fortified yogurt, it could be a potential alternative to prevent or reduce blindness in children with minimal cost.

Effects of blending ratios and baking temperature on physicochemical properties and sensory acceptability of biscuits prepared from pumpkin, common bean, and wheat composite flour

The utilization of vegetables with supplementation of cereals and pulses plays a vital role in improving protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency. Therefore, the study aimed to develop biscuits from pumpkin, common bean, and wheat composite flour with better physicochemical properties and sensory acceptability. All quality parameters were evaluated by using an official standard procedure. The results showed a significant (p < 0.05) difference among products. The addition of pumpkin and common bean flour to composite biscuits significantly (p < 0.05) increased the protein (9.44-16.16%), fat (17.03-21.42%), ash (1.72-2.08%), and crude fibre (1.37-2.06%) contents. In addition, the biscuit's lightness decreased as the incorporation of pumpkin and common bean increased. However, the redness and yellowness of the sample increased. Sensory evaluation scores indicated that biscuits supplemented with 10% pumpkin, 15% common bean, and 75% wheat composite flour baked at 200 °C were more preferred than other formulated products. Therefore, substituting pumpkin powder with wheat-common bean flour significantly improved the nutritional content of the biscuit with desirable sensory acceptability. The findings also showed that the developed products are essential in improving dietary diversity and food insecurity among low-income families.

Potential of pumpkin to combat vitamin A deficiency during complementary feeding in low and middle income countries: variety, provitamin A carotenoid content and retention, and dietary reference intakes

The risk of child vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in low and middle income countries (LMICs) begins during the age range of complementary feeding (6-24 months), when children are fed complementary foods (CFs) deficient in vitamin A. However, pumpkin, a source of provitamin A carotenoids (PVACs) is widely cultivated in LMICs, but underutilized as a complementary food. Moreover, when consumed by humans, PVACs are bioconverted to retinol, the active form of vitamin A used by the body. This study evaluated the potential of pumpkin toward combating VAD by reviewing varieties of pumpkin cultivated in LMICs and their provitamin A carotenoid (PVAC) content; retention of PVACs in pumpkin during processing it as a CF; and the extent to which a CF prepared from pumpkin may meet the dietary reference intakes (DRIs) for vitamin A for children aged 6-24 months old. Pumpkin may combat VAD because the varieties cultivated have high β-carotene content, it is a provitamin A biofortifiable food crop, and 100% retention of PVACs was observed when processed using home cooking methods. Feeding less than 50 g of cooked pumpkin per day meets 100% of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) and adequate intake (AI) of vitamin A for children 6 to 24 months old. Consumption of pumpkin may be used to complement vitamin A supplementation, fortification, and diversification of CFs with animal source foods. For better yield of pumpkin in LMICs, nutrition sensitive agricultural programmes such as biofortification and agronomic management of pumpkin need to be promoted and supported.