ACHA: A Potential Grain as a Food Fortifier
Keywords:
Acha (Fonio), Potential, Standard diet, Fortifier, Whole grainAbstract
Acha (Fonio), in particular, is sometimes regarded as “the grain of life†due to the fact that it provides food early in the farming season, when other crops are yet to mature for harvest. West Africans have cultivated it across the dry Savannas and it is probably one of the oldest African cereals which have been in existence for thousands of years.
In Nigeria, Acha (Fonio) products are recommended as choice sources of carbohydrate for diabetic patients. Today, it is the most expensive grain crop in Nigeria, providing resource for poor farmers and alleviating poverty. The possibility of Acha (Fonio) (which is light and easy to digest) been included in many different cereal based recipes, is not farfetched, thus making it an attractive ingredient for health food products usable by those with gluten intolerance, poor health or for baby food.
Acha (Fonio) contains 7% crude protein which is high in Leucine (9.8%) Methionine (5.6%) and Valine (5.5%). The protein in the crop is reported to be unique; in that it has greater methionine content than other cereals. It is reputed to contain almost twice as much methionine as egg protein does.
It is on this premise that the potential of the crop as a food fortifier is been looked into due to its very important possibility of its use not only as survival food, but as a complement for standard diets.
Â
Â
References
• Adoukonou-Sagbadja H., Genetic Characterization of Traditional Fonio millets (Digitaria exilis, D. iburua STAPF) Landraces from West-Africa: Implications for Conservation and Breeding. Thesis. Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding I. Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Germany, 119. (2010) International Research Journal of Biological Sciences ISSN 2278-3202 Vol. 2(1), 73-79, January (2013) Int. Res. J. Biological Sci. International Science Congress Association
• Adoukonou-Sagbadja H., Schubert V., Dansi A., Jovtchev G., Meister A., Pistrick K., Akpagana K. and Friedt W. Flow cytometric analysis reveals different nuclear DNA contents in cultivated fonio (Digitaria spp.) and some wild relatives, Plant Syst. Evol., 267, 163-176 (2007)
• Agu HO, Jideani IA, Yusuf IZ. Storage stability of improved dambu produced from different cereal grains. Nutr Food Sci. 2008;38:458–472.
• Anderson,J,PerrymanS,YoungL.andPriorS.(2009).DietaryFiber.http://www.ext.costate.edu/pub/foodnut/09333.pgf.Accessed on 09-09-2009.
• Ayo JA, Nkama I. Effect of acha (Digitaria exilis Staph) grain flours on the physical and sensory quality of biscuit. Nutr Food Sci. 2003;33:125–130.
• Ayo JA, Nkama I. Acha (Digitaria exilis) in West Africa. Int J Food Agric. 2006;1:129–144.
• Chukwu O. and Abdul-kadir A.J. Proximate Chemical Composition of Acha (Digitaria exilis and Digitaria iburua) Grains, Journal of Food Technology 6, 214-216 (2008)
• CIRAD: http://fonio.cirad.fr/en/the_grain/biochemical_composition
• www.underutilizedspecies.org/Documents/PUBLICATIONS/fonio_rapport_final_GTZ_project1.pdf
• Conklin AR, Stilwell T. Grain crops. In:World food: production and use. USA: Wiley; 2007. pp. 77–127.
• De Lumen BO, Thompson S, Odegard JW. Sulphur amino acid-rich proteins in acha (Digitaria exilis), a promising underutilized African cereal. J Agric Food Chem. 1993;41: 1045–1047.(1993)
• Dendy DAV. Sorghum and millets: chemistry and technology. St. Paul: American Association of Cereal Chemists; 1995.
• Dury S, Meuriot V, Fliedel G, Blancher BGF, Drame D, Bricas N, Dialite L, Cruz JF (2007) The retail market prices of fonio reveal the demand for quality characteristics in Bamako, Mali. In: Communication at 106th seminar of the Europian Association of Agricultural Economists. “Pro-poor development in low income countries: food, agriculture, trade, and environmentâ€. Montpellier, France.
• European Food Research and Technology Volume 211, Number 2/July, 2000. Publisher Springer Berlin/ Heidelberg Edited F.R. Ruskin p.64.
• Gibon, D. and A. Pain. 1985. Crops of the Dryer Regions of the Tropic. Longman Group, UK Ltd.
• Gyang, J.D. and Wuyep, E.O. (2005). Acha: The grain of life. A bi-annual publication of the Raw Material Research and Development Council, 6 (1): 39-41
• Ibrahim, A. (2001). Hungry Rice (Fonio): A neglected cereal crop. NAQAS Newsletter Vol 1 No. 4: 4-5.
• Irving D.W., and Jideani I.A., Microstructure and composition of Digitaria exilis Stapf (acha): a potential crop, Cereal Chem., 74(3), 224-228. (1997)
• Jideani I.A. Acha, Digitaria exilis, the neglected cereal, Agric. Int. 42, 132-134 (1990)
• Jideani I.A. and Akingbala J.O. Some physicochemical properties of acha (Digitaria exilis) and iburu (Digitaria iburua), J. Sci. Food Agric., 63, 369-374 (1993)
• Jideani IA, Owusu Apenten RK, Muller HG. The effect of cooking on proteins from acha (Digitaria exilis) and durum wheat. J Sci Food Agric. 1994; 65: 465–476. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.2740650415.
• Jideani I.A. Traditional and possible technological uses of Digitaria exilis (fonio) and Digitaria iburua (iburu): a review, Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 54, 363-374 (1999)
• Jideani IA, Owusu Apenten RK, Muller HG. Solubilisation and reductive alkylation of proteins from a tropical cereal Digitaria exilis Stapf—Acha. Niger Food J. 2000;18:1–11.
• Jideani VA, Alamu R, Jideani IA. Preliminary study into the production of non-wheat bread from acha (Digitaria exilis) Nutr Food Sci. 2007;37:434–441. doi: 10.1108/00346650710838090.
• Joshi, A.S.(2007). Nutrition and Ditetics 2nd edition. Tata Mc Grow Hill Publishing company.New Delhi.pp199-221.
• Kahlon TS. Evaluating healthful properties of cereals and cereal fractions by their bile-acid-binding potential. Cereal Foods World. 2009;54:118–121.
• Kasarda DD. Grains in relation to celiac disease. Cereal Foods World. 2001;46:209–210.
• Kwon Ndung, E.H, and Misari, S.M (1999). Overview of research and development of Fonio (Digitaria exilis Kippis Stapf) and prospects for genetic improvement in Nigeria. In: Genetics and Food Security in Nigeria. GSN Publication, Nigeria,p. 71-76.
• Marquart L, DRJr J, Mclntosh GH, Poutanen K, Reicks M. Whole grains and health. UK: Blackwell Publishing; 2007.
• Morales-Payan JP, Ortiz JR, Cicero J, Taveras F. Digiteria exilis as a crop in the Dominican Republic. In: Janick J, Whipkey A, editors. Supplement to: trends in new crops and new uses. Alexandra: ASHS Press; 2002.
• National Research Council (1996). "Fonio (Acha)". Lost Crops of Africa: Volume I: Grains. Lost Crops of Africa. 1. National Academies Press.page=59. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
• Nzelibe HC, Obaleye S, Onyenekwe PC. Malting characteristics of different varieties of fonio millet (Digitaria exilis) European Food Res Tech. 2000;211:126–129. doi: 10.1007/s002179900125.
• Philip T, Itodo I (2006). Acha (Digitaria spp.) a “rediscovered†indigenous crops of West Africa. Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR Ejournal VIII:1–9. www.cigrjournal/index.php/Ejournal/issue/view/27. Accessed 13 December 2010
• Taylor JRN. Grain production and consumption: Africa. Encyclopaedia of grain science. London: Elsevier; 2004. pp. 70–78.
• Taylor JRN (2008) Traditional African Grains. In: Traditional grains for low environmental impact and good health. Seminar/workshop organised by MISTRA and IFS, September 23. Gothenburg, Sweden, pp 24–27 (2008)
• Temple VJ, Bassa JD. Proximate chemical composition of acha (D. exilis) grain. J Sci Food Agric. 1991;56:561–563.
• The National Academies | 500 Fifth St. N.W. | Washington, D.C. 2001]
• Vietnameyer, N.D, Borlaugh, N.E, Axtell, J, Burton, G.W, Harlan, J.R, Rachie KO (1996). Fonio. In: Lost Crops of Africa Vol.1. Grains BOSTID Publications, National Academy Press, New York.
• World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Guidelines on food fortification with micronutrients. 2006 [cited on 2011 Oct 30].
Micronutrient Fortification of Food: Technology and Quality Control
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
- Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
- It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
- The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
- The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
- The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.