Review Received: 25 February 2017 Revised: 7 July 2017 Accepted article published: 21 July 2017 Published online in Wiley Online Library: (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI 10.1002/jsfa.8568 Indigenous food ingredients for complementary food formulations to combat infant malnutrition in Benin: a review Flora J Chadare,a,b* Yann E Madode,a Nadia Fanou-Fogny,a Janvier M Kindossi,a Juvencio OG Ayosso,a S Hermann Honfo,a,c AP Polycarpe Kayodé,a Anita R Linnemannd and D Joseph Hounhouigana Abstract This paper reviews indigenous Beninese food resources as potential ingredients for complementary infant foods with the aim to develop affordable formulations for low-income households in each agro-ecological zone of the country. Potential ingredients were selected on their documented nutritional value. The selected foods encompass 347 food resources, namely 297 plant products from home gardens or collected from natural vegetation and 50 animals, either domesticated or from the wild. The compiled data reveal that the distribution of the available food resources was unbalanced between agro-ecological zones. Only a few animal ingredients are obtainable in northern Benin. Most resources are seasonal, but their availability may be extended. A high variation was observed in energy and nutrient contents. Antinutritional factors were identified in some resources, but processing techniques were reported to reduce their presence in meals. In general, ingredients from local tree foods (Adansonia digitata, Parkia biglobosa) were adequate as sources of nutrients for complementary infant foods. Based on this review, local foods for the development of complementary food formulas for Beninese infants and children may be selected for each agro-ecological zone. The approach used is exemplary for other sub-Saharan African countries in need of complementary infant foods. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry Supporting information may be found in the online version of this article. Keywords: local food resource; infant food; standards; nutritional value; Benin INTRODUCTION inventory and screening of available resources consumed by local Infant and young child malnutrition is a major public health con- communities to enable the selection of the most suitable products cern in developing countries. The contribution of early child- for designing appropriate nutritional food formulae. hood malnutrition in infant morbidity and mortality has been In Benin, as in most developing countries, low-income groups demonstrated worldwide.1 – 6 Malnutrition of infant and young remain dependent on available indigenous plant and animal children results mainly from poor feeding practices such as com- resources to ensure their food security. These resources vary 11,12 plete absence or inadequacy in macronutrients and micronutri- according to agro-ecological zones, leading to a diversity in ents of complementary feeding.4,7 diet and nutritional profiles. On the one hand, commercial com- In the West African subregion, where infant and child malnutri- plementary foods available in the country, especially infant flour, tion remains important among both urban and rural communities, improvements in the processing of traditional complementary foods and ensuring their adequate nutritional value are set as ∗ Correspondence to: FJ Chadare, Laboratoire de Sciences des Aliments, Fac- priorities. Home fortification with multiple micronutrients powder ulté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey-Calavi (LSA/FSA/UAC), has been recommended as an efficient food-based approach Abomey-Calavi, Benin. E-mail: [email protected] for reducing malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies among a Laboratoire de Sciences des Aliments, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, populations depending on plant-based diets. However, this Université d’Abomey-Calavi (LSA/FSA/UAC), Abomey-Calavi, Benin approach has not been sufficiently experimented, especially b Ecole des Sciences et Techniques de Conservation et de Transformation des in poor and rural settings. More sustainable and indigenous produits Agricoles, Université Nationale d’Agriculture (ESTCTPA/UNA), Sakété, improvements could be achieved by wisely combining locally Bénin available foods that complement each other in a way that the new pattern of nutrients created by this combination can meet the c Laboratoire de Biomathématiques et d’Estimations Forestières, Université d’Abomey-Calavi (Labef/UAC), Abomey-Calavi, Benin requirements for infants.8 Clearly, the use of local food resources for infant and young children’s food formulations is strongly d Food Quality and Design, Wageningen University (FQD/WU), Wageningen, The encouraged.9,10 The basic step for achieving such a goal is the Netherlands J Sci Food Agric (2017) www.soci.org © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry www.soci.org FJ Chadare et al. are often cereal based.13 Most of cereal-based complementary foods fail to meet the Codex Alimentarius standards,14 except for energy density (4000 kcal kg−1 dry flour) or protein content (150 g kg−1 dry flour). Most of the complementary foods are poor in animal protein and fat, with very low micronutrient contents, especially vitamin A and iron.13 Moreover, commercial weaning foods are not often affordable for most of the urban populations and are not distributed in rural areas because of their high price. On the other hand, many studies have been and are conducted to assess, among others, ethnobotanical knowledge, geographi- cal distribution, seasonal availability, nutrient content and nutri- tional value of resources traditionally used by local communities in Benin. Those studies reported numerous local edible resources as important sources of vitamins, minerals, fibers, carbohydrates and protein.13,15 – 18 Thus the basic information required for devel- oping a framework for actions that are needed to protect, pro- mote and support appropriate feeding practices in early child- hood is increasingly available.11,19 However, a scheme of the over- all potential of the documented food resources to tackle infant and child malnutrition is still lacking. The aim of the present review is to provide an overview of local food resources that can potentially be used for complementary food formulations, with a focus on their distribution, nutritional values and availability across agro-ecological zones of Benin. METHODOLOGY Strategy for searching information A web search was conducted for peer-reviewed papers on Figure 1. Agro-ecological zones of Benin. I, Extreme Northern; II, North the websites of relevant institutions (UAC (University of cotton zone; III, South Borgou crop zone; IV, West Atacora zone; V, Central Abomey-Calavi), IITA (International Institute of Tropical Agri- Benin cotton zone; VI, Clayey earth zone; VII, Depression zone; VIII, Fishering culture), IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) zone. Source: UNDP, MEPN-Benin: United Nations Climate Change Map; Benin Climate Change Adaptation National Action Program (PANA-BENIN), libraries) and through online databases such as AGORA, Web January 2008, Cotonou, Benin. of Science, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar. A total of 1046 studies were explored within the period from May to October 2015. RESULTS Diversity and distribution of potential ingredients in complementary foods Data collection A total of 347 food resources were compiled in a database accord- The review focused on plant and animal food resources avail- ing to agro-ecological zones (see supporting information docu- able in Benin with potential for use as complementary food ment). Papers have reported on herbs, trees, bushes, creepers, and nationwide. Information gathered included distribution per mor- cryptogams; and on mammals, fish/aquatics, mollusks and insects phological type, seasonal availability, consumption forms across as potential ingredients in complementary foods in Benin. Figure 2 agro-ecological zones (Fig. 1) and food component value. Tar- shows the diversity and morphological characteristics of these geted food components included macronutrients, minerals, amino food resources in each agro-ecological zone. The diversity of food and fatty acids, vitamins and antinutritional factors. The food resources in the country decreases from the south (245 in zone components were reported in international standard units (g VIII, the country’s fishery zone) to the extreme north (34 in Zone I). or kcal kg−1 dry weight). The validity of the component values Similar distributions were observed in zones II (the Northern cot- could not be checked as this went beyond the scope of this ton zone), III (the food-producing zone of Southern Borgou), in study. zones IV (Western Atacora zone) and V (the Southern cotton zone). Animal food resources, mammals and mollusks were only avail- Data quality able in agro-ecological zone VI (Tray zone), and edible insects only The built database was sifted and potential complementary food in zone IV (Western Atacora zone); aquatic food resources were ingredients were selected based on their nutrient and antinutri- reported from depressions (agro-ecological zones VI and VII) and tional factor contents. Food ingredients that are already widely fishery zones (agro-ecological zone VIII). studied and mostly known as conventional were not or hardly con- Plant resources were either cultivated (on farmland or home sidered. The recommended macronutrient component of infant gardens) or harvested from forests, savannahs, shallow areas, flour14 and reference nutrient intake values of amino acids, vita- riversides, roadsides or