Effect of Processing Methods on Proximate Composition of Cereal and Legume flours

Abstract

Purpose - This paper aimed to demonstrate the proximate composition of cereal (wheat and maize) and legume (mungbean and groundnut) flours when subjected to two traditional processing methods (i.e. roasting and germination). Cereals are staple foods for human nutrition and most of the inhabitants use wheat as an ample food due to the dietary proteins in flour. Maize is an important cereal grain in the world and it has a diverse form of utilization including human food uses, animal feed formulation and as a basic raw material for industrial purposes. Legumes contain high amounts of protein; mungbean is an excellent source of high quality plant protein. Groundnut is a legume with seed rich in oil and protein. Design - Raw ingredients were obtained, cleaned and divided into three batches. The first batch of material was raw and considered as control. The second and third batch samples were roasted and germinated respectively. Roasting and germination were done by the standard methods. Proximate composition such as moisture, ash, protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrate and energy were determined using the standard procedures.