This study evaluated the physicochemical and color properties of composite flour made from peanut (P), chickpea (C), maize (M), and orange flesh sweet potato (OFSP). The color attributes (L*, a*, b*, c*, h°) varied significantly among samples, with L* (lightness) values ranging from 53.31 to 61.54. The moisture, ash, fat, fiber, protein, and carbohydrate content ranged from 6.75 to 7.79 %, 2.62 to 2.86 %, 15.62 to 33.80 %, 2.06 to 4.91 %, 9.05 to 14.60 %, and 39.54 to 63.75 %, respectively. The functinl properties, including bulk density, water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, and water solubility index, ranged from 1.02 to 2.02 g/mL, 2.32 to 3.18 g/g, 1.95 to 2.96 g/g, and 11.73 to 13.42 %, respectively and antinutrient content showed tannin, phytate, and oxalate contents ranging from 1.75 to 2.39 mg/g, 0.29 to 0.67 mg/g, and 8.80 to 11.48 mg/g, respectively. The protein content in the composite flour decreased as the proportion of orange flesh sweet potato flour increased. However, the provitamin A content increased, which is important for targeting vitamin A deficiency. These findings demonstrate the potential of these composite flours for developing home-based therapeutic foods to combat moderate acute malnutrition in children under five years, and future research will conduct sensory evaluation.
Gashaw et al. (Thu,) studied this question.