Physicochemical, proximate and sensory evaluation of pearl millet and pigeon pea based nutrient dense mix

Severe acute malnutrition serves a high risk of mortality among children aged 6-59 months. At a community level anganwadi centers play a vital role in identifying malnutrition among children and enabling resources for growth and development. The aim of this study was to develop a nutrient dense mix using pearl millet and pigeon pea and evaluate its sensory, physicochemical and proximate properties. The nutrient dense mix was formulated using pearl millet and pigeon pea in several variations and the best accepted variation was selected through sensory evaluation and analyzed for its physiochemical and proximate composition. Variation 3 of the nutrient dense mix prepared by balancing pearl millet with rice had the highest acceptability in all sensory parameters. It had favorable physicochemical properties including water solubility index (20.1%), swelling power (3.7%) and low moisture content (3.7%). The proximate analysis revealed high energy (347.10±0.85 kcals), protein (14.28±0.04 g), fat (19.53±0.03) and calcium content (154.63±2.2 mg). The percentage adequacy of the nutrients from the nutrient dense mix showed that 31.27% of energy as per the estimated average requirements was met for 1-3 year olds and 25.5% for 4-6 year olds. The high sensory acceptability, low cost and good micro and macronutrient profile encourages further exploration for the product in curbing malnutrition.