FORMULATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PEANUT-BASED READY-TO-USE THERAPEUTIC FOODS FOR MALNOURISHED PREGNANT WOMEN IN MALI by ALLISON RAE BECHMAN (Under the Direction of Jinru Chen) ABSTRACT Malnutrition is a condition affecting much of the developing world that results from diets low in nutrients and energy needed by the body. The treatment option used often in children involves the use of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs), which are nutrient and energy dense foods that require no additional preparation. Most RUTFs currently used are similar and consist of ground peanuts, powdered milk, sugar, oil and fortified with a vitamin/mineral premix. Children are not the only group affected by malnutrition, however, with pregnant women being at a high risk of becoming malnourished, which affects both mother and infant. Producing the RUTF formulation locally requires powdered milk to be imported, increasing costs and making the RUTF less accessible for those in need. The goal of this research was to use formulation software to develop plant-based RUTFs for pregnant women in Mali using largely local ingredients. Once formulated, six RUTF formulations containing peanuts, cowpeas, millet and rice or barley (as koji) were processed using simple technologies commonly available in Mali. The proximate nutrients for the RUTFs were analyzed and compared to the predicted values. Actual values were found to be similar to the software predicted values, with actual energy values having the greatest difference, ranging from 11.90-19.70%. The RUTFs were processed using techniques including roasting, decorticating, boiling, milling, enzymatic hydrolysis and heat sterilization. Once processed, seven sensory characteristics of the RUTFs were determined using a descriptive panel. As another option to help with malnutrition, probiotics have been shown to help improve physiologic properties that are impaired in the host intestinal tract. The survivability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium lactis and a five-strain mixture with rice or potato maltodextrin in capsules stored at 37, 25 and 4 °C was observed in the present work. Probiotics stored at 4 °C were found to survive at higher population levels compared to those stored at 25 or 37 °C. This project looks at malnutrition from a different perspective, focusing on using formulation software, local ingredients and simple processing technologies to produce RUTFs to treat malnutrition in pregnant women. INDEX WORDS: Malnutrition, Ready-to-Use Therapeutic foods, Mali, Pregnant women, Probiotics, Descriptive sensory analysis FORMULATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PEANUT-BASED READY-TO-USE THERAPEUTIC FOODS FOR MALNOURISHED PREGNANT WOMEN IN MALI by ALLISON RAE BECHMAN B.S., Purdue University, 2008 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2013 © 2013 Allison Rae Bechman All Rights Reserved FORMULATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PEANUT-BASED READY-TO-USE THERAPEUTIC FOODS FOR MALNOURISHED PREGNANT WOMEN IN MALI by ALLISON RAE BECHMAN Approved: Major Professor: Jinru Chen Committee: Yao-Wen Huang William L. Kerr Robert D. Phillips Robert L. Shewfelt Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2013 iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, family, “adopted family” and friends who have supported me and encouraged me through this entire process. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Chen and Dr. Phillips for giving me this opportunity and for giving me advice and guidance along the way. I would also like to thank Dr. Shewfelt, Dr. Kerr and Dr. Huang for serving on my committee. Your help and support throughout this process and on aspects of my research was valuable and important to my success. A big thank you is needed for the staff of the Food Science and Technology Department at the Griffin UGA campus. Thank you to Glenn Farrell for your help in learning how to operate various pieces of equipment and for building and fixing pieces for my experiments when needed. Sue Ellen McCullough, I could not have survived graduate school without you and thank you for all of your help with various experiments. I would also like to thank Sandra Walker and Lary Hitchcock for their help. Jerry Davis, thank you for your help in learning SAS and running the proper statistics on my data. I could not have made it through graduate school without the support and encouragement of family and friends. My family, you know who you are, I never would have made it without you and I am blessed to have you all in my life. Kim, you are truly a great friend and I cannot thank you enough for reading my work and for pushing me to finish. I would also like to thank the Lovin family for all of their help and support. For everyone that has helped me in various ways, thank you. Also, thank you to the US Aid for International Development Peanut Collaborative Research Support Program for funding of my project. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Experimental Approach ...........................................................................................5 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................11 3 THE USE OF NUTRIENT OPTIMIZING/COST MINIMIZING SOFTWARE TO DEVELOP READY-TO-USE THERAPEUTIC FOODS FOR MALNOURISHED PREGNANT WOMEN IN MALI ...............................................................................69 4 PROCESSING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF READY-TO-USE THERAPEUTIC FOODS FOR MALNOURISHED PREGNANT WOMEN IN MALI .........................................................................................................................100 5 SURVIVAL OF SIX PROBIOTICS IN CAPSULES WITH RICE AND POTATO MALTODEXTRIN EXCIPIENTS AT VARIOUS TEMPERATURES ..................125 6 DESCRIPTIVE SENSORY EVALUATION OF READY-TO-USE THERAPEUTIC FOODS FOR MALNOURISHED PREGNANT WOMEN ......................................143 7 CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................161 vii APPENDICES A CHANGES IN SELECTED PHYSICAL PROPERTY AND ENZYME ACTIVITY OF RICE AND BARLEY KOJI DURING FERMENATION AND STORAGE .....165 B DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS BALLOT ....................................................................186 viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 2.1: Nutrient composition of the eleven local plant ingredients in Mali for RUTF formulation based on nutrient profiles from the USDA Nutrient Database ......................37 Table 3.1: Prices for potential RUTF ingredients ($USD/kg) over a six year period in Mali .......92 Table 3.2: Daily nutrient requirements and formulation restrictions for macronutrients and amino acids for pregnant women in their 3rd trimester .................................................................93 Table 3.3: RUTF formulations generated using Creative Concepts Formulation software ..........94 Table 3.4: Software predicted and actual macronutrients (A) and amino acids (B) of the RUTFs (on a dry weight basis) .....................................................................................................95 Table 3.5: Changes in ingredient costs ($US/kg of dry product) of RUTF production due to increases in commodity prices in Mali from 2004 to 2009 ...............................................97 Table 4.1: Six formulations processed to determine RUTF product characteristics ...................118 Table 4.2: Viscosity at 30 rpm for processed RUTF formulation containing rice and barley koji based on product type and protease level ........................................................................119 Table 4.3: pH, viscosity at 30 rpm and lightness of product at initial processing and 12 mo of storage at 4 °C ..................................................................................................................120 Table 5.1: Effects of storage time on the survival (log CFU/g) of probiotics during a 12 mo storage period for all storage temperatures ......................................................................139 Table 5.2: Effects of storage temperature on the survival of probiotics during a 12 mo storage period at 37. 25 and 4 °C .................................................................................................140 ix Table 5.3: Effects of rice and potato maltodextrins on the survival of probiotics during a 12 mo storage period ...................................................................................................................141 Table 5.4: Overall effect of temperature, time, excipient type and probiotic choice on the survival of probiotics during a storage period of 12 mo at 37, 25 and 4°C ...................................142 Table 6.1: Composition of RUTF formulations developed and processed for sensory evaluation ..........................................................................................................................................158