Nutritional Profile of Bakery Products Consumed in Bahrain

Abstract

Proximate, mineral, sterol and fatty acid composition of nine local bakery items consumed in Bahrain was determined. Protein levels ranged from 5.63-14.81 percent w/w while the carbohydrate content ranged from 26.81-55.88 percent w/w. The fat content was in the range of 6.36-14.59 percent w/w and most of the foods had moderate energy values ranging from 193.28-388.59Kcal/100g. The sodium (2281.0-6243.4ppm) and potassium (1426.9-2824.7ppm) levels were quite high while the rest of the minerals including iron and zinc were low. Cholesterol levels were low in most of the foods and addition of dairy products increased the cholesterol levels (range from < 1.00-88.54mg/100g). β-sitosterol was also present in the range of < 1.00-26.70mg/100g while lower amount of campesterol and stigmasterol was seen. Palmitic acid was dominant in most of the foods (29.3-34.0mg/100g) as was oleic acid (7.8-41.0mg/100g) while linoleic and stearic acid were present to a lesser extent.