Essential Mineral of the New Shoots of Palmyra Enriched with Moringa oleifera Leaves and Vigna unguiculata Bean Powders

The purpose of this study is to contribute to a better valorization of Palmyra (Borassus aethiopum) by the content determination in essential minerals of the flours of its young shoots enriched with the powders of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaves and Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) beans, also to evaluate the nutritive contributions from the consumption. For this purpose, the mineral composition of formulations obtained using the central composite design and two industrial infantile flours (ET1 and ET2) were determined.

The analysis of the macroelements (Ca, P, K, and Na) gave the following contents: Calcium (122.90 ± 2.20 – 355 ± 1.79 mg/100 g), Phosphorus (175.41 ± 0.81 - 481.50 ± 1.75 mg/100 g), potassium (547.95 ± 1.54 - 833.14 ± 2.68 mg/100 g) and sodium (11.14 ± 1.08 - 200.04 ± 2.21 mg / 100 g). The studied flours provided the microelements (Mg, Fe, Cu and Zn) contents following: magnesium (100.11 ± 2.30 - 159.26 ± 2.04 mg/100 g), Iron (5.12 ± 0.08 - 23.20 ± 1.21 mg/100 g), copper (2.84 ± 0.23 - 6.97 ± 0.45 mg/100 g) and zinc (0.63 ± 0.03 - 16.60 ± 0.64 mg/100 g). The average daily quantity of flour consumed by a child from 1 to 2 years in Africa is 250 g. The contributions estimated in minerals of 250 g of EF07 or EE09 flours are more than 3 times higher than those obtained with B. aethiopum flour. They contributed to more than 100% of a child for 1 to 2 years minerals needs revealed in this study except for sodium and with more than 50% of the needs of a adult of 70 kg. Similar results are obtained with the reference flours used in this study. The popularization of these composite food formulations could help to ensure the food security of populations, preserve biodiversity and promote the fight against poverty and the advancement of the desert.