Fortification of energy food using Iranian native gums

The fortification process is carried out to improve the micronutrient intake in the target community. The aim of this study was to produce energy food fortified with micronutrients using zedo and watercress seed gums and to investigate the effect of the gums on the stability and recovery of minerals and vitamins. The formulation included meat powder, soy powder, oil, fat-soluble vitamins, minerals (iron and zinc) and sodium chloride. Among the formulations that had the highest amount of energy and viscosity, 5 were selected and the amount of minerals, iron and zinc, vitamins A, D, E and K and the amount of water activity were measured. Formula A had the highest amount of energy and viscosity with 0.92% of watercress seed gum and 1.23% of zedo gum. The data showed that the presence of gums preserves the content of fat-soluble vitamins in the samples and there is no significant difference between the amount of vitamins A, D, E and K on days 0 and 14, but in the control the amount of vitamins decreased. The response obtained from the simultaneous presence of zedo gum and watercress in the formulation of energy food showed that the type and concentration of gum had no effect on the preservation of minerals (iron and zinc). The best formulation in this study contained 35.25% protein and 0.5% minerals, which provides 277.03 kcal of energy, the total daily requirement of vitamins A, D and E, 62.5% of the daily requirement of vitamin K and 100% of the daily requirement of iron and zinc.