Abstract
This study examined how fermentation and roasting alter the amino acid profile of infant food created from mixtures of sorghum and soybean. Sorghum and soybean were fermented, roasted and both fermented and roasted before milling into flours. Untreated sorghum and soybean flours were also produced to serve as the control. Except for the control samples, each blend had 5% malted sorghum flour added. Weaning foods were prepared with these blends, and their amino acid profiles were determined. The contents of essential amino acids, including histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine, ranged from 2.03 to 2.48 g/100g, 3.39 to 5.22 g/100g, 8.16 to 11.21 g/100g, 4.18 to 6.38 g/100g, 1.45 to 2.41 g/100g, 4.22 to 6.34 g/100g, 3.41 to 5.86 g/100g, 2.98 to 4.30 g/100g, and 4.01 to 6.33 g/100g, respectively. The contents of non-essential amino acids, including alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, cystine, glutamic acid, glycine, proline, and serine, varied between 3.31-6.13 g/100g, 4.93-7.32 g/100g, 10.23-14.33 g/100g, 1.38-2.35 g/100g, 13.64-16.84 g/100g, 3.99-6.35 g/100g, 3.59-5.34 g/100g, and 2.94-4.88 g/100g, respectively. The fermentation and roasting processes were found to significantly enhance the amino acid content of weaning foods with inconsistent effects. Therefore, optimizing these conditions is recommended for weaning blends to maximize health and nutritional benefits for infants and young children.