Mineral Composition of Locally Formulated Breakfast Meal for Nursery School Pupils in Anambra State

Published November 6, 2025 | Version v1

Journal Open

The objectives of the study were to determine the mineral composition of locally formulated

breakfast meals for nursery school pupils. Inadequate breakfast can lead to deficiencies

that impact overall health and developmental outcomes. An adequate breakfast meal

includes a mix of macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats and essential

vitamins and minerals. Mineral composition in a nutritional context pertains to the

minerals found in food and their relative concentrations. The mineral composition of a

food item can influence its nutritional value and health benefits. Thus, knowing the mineral

composition of the formulated breakfast meal is vital. The breakfast meal formulated in

this study combined several ingredients, each contributing unique nutritional benefits.

The study adopted experimental research design. Composite flours were produced from

the various local food items used for the study which included corn, date, sweet potato

and bonga fish. Six samples of the breakfast meal were formulated at different ratios.

Standard laboratory analytical method of Association of Official Analytical Chemists

(AOAC) procedure was used to determine the mineral composition of the samples. The

mineral elements analyzed were potassium (K), phosphorus (P), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe),

magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca). The results on the mineral composition showed the

samples contained a reasonable and recommendable good amount of potassium (250.16-

385.31), phosphorus (235.81-276.85), zinc (2.57-3.64), iron (3.84-6.41), magnesium

(134.66-148.36) and calcium (198.62-290.57). The result obtained showed that the

formulated breakfast meal samples contained appreciable amount of minerals and the

formulations are suitable to be used as meal for nursery school pupils. These findings

support the use of local ingredients in child nutrition, may better support the nutritional

needs of school-aged children, particularly for cognitive development, energy metabolism,

and immune function. The study recommends that 40% corn, 10% sweet potato, 20%

dates, 0.4% bonga fish and 27.6% oat be used for the formulation of this product as it

gives product with highest mineral content also, the samples should be further characterized

to determine their suitability for various applications, such as food formulation, nutritional

supplementation, and pharmaceutical development. Further studies are recommended to

examine these breakfast formulations’ shelf-life.

Keywords: Breakfast Meal Formulation, Mineral Composition, Local food items.

Files

Name	Size	Download all
5-2.pdf md5:cb271248e8fd7dea8e0ca5ef05881e3e	203.5 kB	Preview Download