Nutritional Value and Sensory Acceptability of M. oleifera Fortified Finger Millet Porridge for Children with Cerebral Palsy in Nairobi County, Kenya

Nutritional deficiencies and other nutritional comorbidities commonly affect children with cerebral palsy. Interventions through fortification to enhance nutrient densities of foods for these groups may improve their intakes and consequently their nutritional and health status. This study was undertaken to determine the nutritional value and sensory acceptability of a finger millet porridge fortified with Moringa oleifera leaf powder. Standard methods approved by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists were adopted for determination of nutrient and anti-nutrient content of samples. Sensory evaluation was conducted according to the method of Larmond (1977). Statistical analysis was conducted with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 20. One-way analysis of variance with a post-hoc test of Least Significant Difference to separate the means was used to compare the nutrient and anti-nutrient content of samples. Independent t-test was used to test difference in mean sensory scores between fortified and control porridge. The results showed that M. oleifera leaf powder had significantly higher contents of protein and β-carotene, which were the target nutrients for fortification of the fermented finger millet flour. Fermentation reduced the levels of anti-nutrients in finger millet flour. Fortification of the fermented finger millet flour with M. oleifera leaf powder at the ratio of 9:1 significantly improved the protein and β-carotene content of the fortified flour and did not significantly affect the sensory acceptability of the fortified porridge. This study confirmed the potential for M. oleifera as suitable fortificant in finger millet porridge formulations to improve both protein and β-carotene intake in target populations