Nutritive value and acceptability of bread fortified with moringa seed powder

Bread is a common staple food in developing countries and many other regions of the world. It is an energy dense food with low micronutrient content. Micronutrient deficiency is increasing among children and pregnant women in Africa and other developing countries. In this study, bread was fortified with moringa seed powder at varying proportions (0–20%). The proximate, mineral, vitamin A content and sensory attributes of the moringa fortified bread samples were evaluated. Results of the proximate analysis showed that moringa seed powder addition significantly (p < 0.05) increased the protein (8.55–13.46%), ash (0.63–1.76%), fat (7.31–15.75%) and fibre content (0.08–0.62%) of the bread samples, while the moisture (22.90–20.01%) and carbohydrates content (57.68–46.73%) of the bread decreases. The mineral contents (Phosphorus, potassium, calcium and Iron) of the moringa fortified bread also increased significantly. Vitamin A contents of the bread samples increased by 50–74%, as the proportion of moringa seed powder increases in the flour blends. Results of the sensory evaluation indicated that the 5% moringa fortified bread was not significantly different from the bread produced from 100% wheat flour in terms of most of the quality atributes evaluated in this study. In conclusion, fortification of bread with moringa seed powder increased both the micro and macronutrient of conventional bread. In addition, the moringa fortified bread was rich in Vitamin A and also acceptable to consumers at 5% fortification level. Keywords: Moringa seed, Food fortification, Bread, Vitamin A, Proximate composition, Sensory attribute