African Journal of Agriculture and Food Security

African Journal of Agriculture and Food Security ISSN: 2375-1177 Vol. 14 (1), pp. 001-008, January, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research paper

Prevalence of Aflatoxins and Heavy Metals in Commercial Poultry Feed Samples

N. Abdullah Alkhalaf1, A. Khaled Osman2 and K. Ahmed Salama3*

¹Department Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Bureidah, Saudi Arabia.
²Department of Plant Production and Protection, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Bureidah, Saudi Arabia.
³Department of Medical Laboratories, Faculty of Science, Almajmaah University, Zulfi, Saudi Arabia.

Accepted 9 November, 2025

Aflatoxins and heavy metals were investigated in some poultry feed samples used as starter, grower, developer, layer, rabbit feed and bran which obtained from the local market at Al-Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. The results indicated that different amounts of aflatoxins were found in the analyzed samples. They reached peak values of 70.6, 46.38 and 50.88 µg/kg sample for aflatoxin B1, G1, and G2, respectively, however aflatoxin B2 was generally less than 2.0 µg/kg. The study showed that the levels of aflatoxins were generally below the permissible levels (100 - 200 µg/kg). The results, also indicated that different levels of lead, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, nickel, zinc, manganese, iron and copper were detected in all samples. They ranged from 0.10 - 3.21, 0.004 - 0.249, 0.14 - 1.82, 4.57 - 37.6, 9.77 - 42.93, 0.51 - 55.38, 0.43 - 10.20, 3.78 - 5.18, and 0.45 - 3.26 mg/kg for lead, cadmium, cobalt, zinc, manganese, iron, copper, chromium and nickel, respectively. The high levels of zinc, copper, manganese and iron may reflecting the deliberate addition of these metals to meet animal nutrient requirements. Cadmium levels were less than the permissible limit of 0.5 mg/kg in US feeds. Lead levels in most feed sample exceeded the permissible limit of < 1 mg/ kg in UK. However, they lower than the allowed lead content in feed ingredients according to the current official regulations (10 mg/ kg).

Key words: Aflatoxin, heavy metals, feeds, poultry, monitoring.
 

African Journal of Agriculture and Food Security ISSN: 2375-1177 Vol. 14 (1), pp. 001-008, January, 2026. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research paper

Nutrient Analysis of Children's Foods: Coastal versus Sudan Savannah Zones of Benin

Fernande G. Honfo^1*, Kerstin Hell^2, Noel Akissoe^3, Romain Dossa^3, Joseph D. Hounhouigan³

¹International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA-Cotonou), 08 BP 0932 Cotonou, Bénin.
²International Potato Center (CIP-Cotonou), 08 BP 0932, Cotonou, Bénin.
³Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey Calavi, 01 BP 526 Cotonou, Bénin.

Accepted 17 October, 2025

Food diversification is recognized as an approach to reduce nutrient deficiencies among the population. Samples of food commonly consumed by the children in two agro ecological zones (Coastal Savannah Zone in the South (CSZ) and Sudan Savannah Zone in the North (SSZ)) of Benin were collected for energy, protein, fat, iron, zinc and vitamin A contents determination. Energy content ranged from 76 to 82 kcal/100 g (wet basis) in the cereal paste collected in the CSZ and from 60 to 105 kcal/100 g in the SSZ. In the samples sauces from CSZ, energy ranged between 49 and 189 kcal/100 g; and protein from 1.9 to 5.6 g/100 g; Iron and zinc contents ranged between 1.8 - 5.0 and 0.2 - 1.1 mg/100 g respectively while vitamin A content from 428 to 6394 mg RE/100 g. Samples sauces gave 39.0 - 84.1 kcal/100 g of energy; 1.5 - 4.3 g of protein; 1.6 - 5.6 mg of iron; 0.08 - 0.8 mg of zinc and 44.8 - 3805 mg RE of vitamin A in the SSZ. The same zone showed high food variability with 12 types of foods versus 5 for CSZ. However, high prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition is observed among the children in the SSZ. Then, the food variability is not a sufficient factor to improve the nutritional status of the children.

Key words: Agro-ecological zones, nutritional composition, energy content, protein content, iron content, zinc content.
 

African Journal of Agriculture and Food Security ISSN: 2375-1177 Vol. 13 (5), pp. 001-004, May, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research paper

Processing of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) for Non-Alcoholic Beverage Production

F. D. Wireko-Manu*, W. O. Ellis and I. Oduro

Food Science and Technology Department, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Accepted 16 March, 2025

Sweet potato tubers were processed into non-alcoholic beverage flavored with citrus lime and ginger. Two varieties namely faara and sauti were used. pH, total sugars, total solids, brix, total titrable acidity, vitamins C and A were determined and sensory evaluation was conducted on the products to assess the acceptance preference. Values for pH ranged from 3.81 to 4.34 and that for degree brix was from 12.00 - 13.13°.The result of total titrable acidity (TTA) ranged between 0.45 - 1.6 with lime flavored having higher TTA than the ginger flavored. Total solids varied significantly and ranged from 12.57 - 13.78% with faara having higher values than sauti. Vitamin C content was low because of heat treatment and hence the beverage was fortified with vitamin C. Vitamin A content was also low and ranged 3.28 to 10.11 µg/100 g (32.8 - 101.08 µgL-1) with faara variety having higher vitamin A equivalent. The sensory results showed that significant differences (p < 0.05) existed between the different flavored samples and not between varieties. Generally the beverage had good consumer preference with the ginger flavored being the most preferred. The properties of the sweet potato non-alcoholic beverage are within the range of fruit juices; drinks and non-alcoholic beverages set by Ghana standards board thus, can serve the purpose of already existing fruit drinks/beverages.

Key words: Sweet potato, non-alcoholic, beverage, faara, sauti.
 

African Journal of Agriculture and Food Security ISSN: 2375-1177 Vol. 13 (5), pp. 001-004, May, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research paper

Comparative Nutritional and Mineral Analysis of Cultivated and Wild Edible Mushrooms from Central Malawi

K. G. Masamba* and R. Kazombo-Mwale

Department of Home Economics and Human Nutrition, Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi, Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi.

Accepted 9 March, 2025

The production of cultivated mushrooms and utilization of both cultivated and indigenously grown edible mushrooms have been on the increase in modern times especially due to their nutritional importance. A comparative study on the selected nutrient and mineral contents of two cultivated and two indigenously grown edible mushrooms were carried out at Bunda College of Agriculture in Lilongwe, Malawi between the month of June and December, 2008. Nutrient and mineral content determinations were carried out for two edible indigenous mushrooms namely Cantharellus cibarius and Termitomyces letestui and two cultivated mushrooms namely Agaricus bisporus and Pleurotus florida. Results on the selected nutrients and minerals namely protein, fat, fibre, calcium, iron and magnesium revealed both significant differences and similiarities. The indigenously grown mushroom species C. cibarius and Termitomyces letestui were found to contain 1.9 and 3.9% for protein, 0.2 and 0.7% for fat and 6.1, 2.0, 9.0 and 5.6, 1.0, 8.6% for calcium, iron and magnesium, respectively on wet basis while the cultivated mushrooms A. bisporus and P. florida were found to contain 3.0 and 2.3% for protein, 0.8 and 0.2% for fat, 2.2 and 0.2%, 8.4 and 2.8%, 0.2 and 8.0% for calcium, iron and magnesium, respectively on wet basis. It can be concluded that significant differences in selected nutrient contents exist between indigenously grown and cultivated mushroom species.

Key words: Agaricus bisporus, Cantharellus cibarius, Pleurotus florida, Termitomyces letestui, nutrient content, wet basis.

African Journal of Agriculture and Food Security ISSN: 2375-1177 Vol. 13 (5), pp. 001-009, May, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research paper

Extraction and Characterization of Casein Phosphopeptides from Fermented Milk

Kantha D. Arunachalam1 and R.  Balaji Raja2*

1Centre for Inter Disciplinary research, Directorate of Research, SRM University, Kattankulathur-603203,
Tamilnadu, India.
2Department of Biotechnology, SRM University, Kattankulathur-603203, Tamilnadu, India.

Accepted 8 March, 2024

The fermented milk peptides have a varied composition and they contain CPP (casein phosphopeptides) which has a wide array of uses. The study was undertaken to isolate CPP from fermented milk and it was then characterised using appropriate techniques. The 3 parameters of viscosity, titrable acidity and pH were standardised before commencing the studies. The antimicrobial activity of the CPP was tested against a number of clinical pathogens and it gave positive answer for ESCHERICHIA COLI and PSEUDOMONAS species with 14 and 16 mm of zone of inhibitions, respectively. The molecular weight range of the CPP was determined by gel electrophoresis and it was found to be around 3.5- 4.0 KD (KiloDaltons). FTIR analysis of the CPP done along with non-fermented milk as the control revealed the constituents. The characterisation of the CPP provided detailed insights of its nature and potential uses across numerous fields.

Key words: CPP, fermented milk, antimicrobial activity, FTIR.
 

African Journal of Agriculture and Food Security ISSN: 2375-1177 Vol. 13 (5), pp. 001-011, May, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research paper

Nutritional Composition and Anti-Nutrient Variation in Mucuna Beans: A Study of Processing Techniques

J. B. Mugendi1*, E. N. M. Njagi2, E. N. Kuria1, M. A. Mwasaru3, J. G. Mureithi4 and Z. Apostolides5

1Department of Foods and Nutrition, Kenyatta University, P. O. Box 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
2Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kenyatta University P. O. Box 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
3Department of Foods Science and Post Harvest Technology, JKUAT, P. O. Box 62000-00200, Nairobi, Kenya.
4Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (HQ), P. O. Box 57811-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
5Department of Biochemistry, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.

Accepted 8 March, 2025

Mucuna bean (Mucuna pruriens) is an indigenous legume promoted in Kenya as a green manure cover crop. It contains high protein but it is under - utilized due to the presence of 3, 4-dihydroxy- L-phenylalanine (L-Dopa) and other anti nutritional compounds. To improve its nutritional potential as a protein source, mucuna bean was processed and evaluated for nutritional composition. Effects of processing at different pH, temperature and particle size, autoclaving, germination and fermentation on the contents of anti-nutritional compounds and crude protein were investigated. Raw beans contained high crude protein (27.9 g/100-1). Contents of ether extract; crude fibre and ash were 3.7, 7.9 and 3.5 g/100-1, respectively. Mineral content was comparable to that of common pulses. Raw whole mucuna bean contained high L-Dopa (7.0 g/100-1) content. Other anti-nutritional compounds included total phenols 7.1 g/100-1, trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) 5.1 TIU and phytates 0.9 g/100-1. All processing techniques, except roasting, reduced levels of L-dopa by > 95% while less than 15% of protein was lost. Soaking dehulled bean in acidic medium (pH 3.2) at 60°C for 48 h reduced L-Dopa content to the recommended safe level of 0.1%. Processing mucuna bean increased its nutritional value and potential to improve food security.

Key words: Mucuna bean, anti-nutritional compounds, L-Dopa, processing methods.