Changes in Chemical Composition of Treated and Untreated Hungry Rice "Acha" (Digitaria exilis)

Abstract

This study focused on the changes in the chemical composition of treated and untreated hungry rice “Acha”. Nutrient composition and antinutritional factors were studied using standard methods of analysis. The results of analyses revealed that hungry rice fermented for 108 h (FHR₁₀₈) had significantly higher Crude Protein (CP) (9.94%), True Protein (TP) (9.34%), True Nitrogen (TN) (1.49%), Non-Protein Nitrogen (NPN) (0.10%) and fat (3.08%) (p<0.05). Fermentation for 48 h (FHR₄₈) had the highest copper (Cu) (3.26 mg), manganese (Mn) (1.38 mg), zinc (Zn) (1.62 mg), phosphorus (Ph) (160.89 mg) and iodine (I₂) (103.33 mcg) than others (p<0.05). Untreated Hungry Rice (UTHR) had the highest tannins (0.13 mg), phytate (1.22 mg) and Trypsin Inhibitors (TI) (38.45 mg). Based on this study, cooking and fermentation increased both proximate and mineral composition in treated samples but decreased antinutritional factors in most parameters tested. Cooking and fermentation could be used by most rural and poor urban dwellers to increase nutrient content of their diets.