{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T14:22:02Z","timestamp":1789395722746,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789344000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000865","name":"Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000865","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Nutr."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) among children under five remains a challenge in Tanzania, where the fortified blended foods used to manage it are almost entirely imported, expensive and inaccessible. This study developed and evaluated a grain amaranth-based extruded instant porridge as a locally sourced alternative. Five formulations were generated from grain amaranth, pro-vitamin A maize, soybean and sesame by two-stage linear programming using regional food composition data, with crude protein maximized subject to a technological fat ceiling of 11.0\u202fg\/100\u202fg. Formulation 1, the least-cost solution, and Formulation 5, the most nutrient-dense within fat ceiling that is more economical than the non-compliant Formulation 3, were advanced to twin-screw extrusion. Proximate composition (AOAC 2005), mineral content (microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometry) and anti-nutritional factors (colorimetric methods) were determined; functional and sensory properties were evaluated; data were analyzed by ANOVA. Protein ranged from 18.14 g\/100 g in Formulation 1 to 20.53 g\/100 g in Formulation 5 reaching 98.0% of the WFP\/UNICEF Super Cereal Plus (CSB++) minimum of 400\u202fkcal\/100\u202fg. Formulation 5 showed the highest fat (11.95\u202fg\/100\u202fg) and zinc (8.98\u202fmg\/100\u202fg), all within CSB++ ranges, with only potassium below specification (37.1%). Extrusion significantly increased water absorption capacity (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001), shifted the flour from the fair to good flowing category, and reduced tannins, oxalates and phytate by 50.2, 64.9 and 77.6% relative to raw grain amaranth. Sensory scores showed good overall acceptability (6.2\u20136.9), with significant differences for aroma (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001) and flavor (\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f0.002); SC(F5)-777 ranked highest among extruded samples. Food-to-food fortification using grain amaranth at 40\u201345% produced energy- and nutrient-dense instant porridge with improved mineral content, functional properties, and sensory characteristics, demonstrating strong potential for use as locally available supplementary food for managing MAM in children under five.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2026.1895788","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T14:01:36Z","timestamp":1789394496000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Development and nutritional evaluation of an extruded grain amaranth-instant porridge as a supplementary food for children under five with moderate acute malnutrition"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Amos Steven","family":"Mwikwabe","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences and Bio Engineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST)","place":["Arusha, Tanzania"]},{"name":"Department of Post-Harvest Technology, Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI)","place":["Tengeru-Arusha, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haikael David","family":"Martin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Sciences and Bio Engineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST)","place":["Arusha, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Benson Kusirie","family":"Mushi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC)","place":["Dar es Salaam, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dyness Dickson","family":"Kejo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Dar es Salaam","place":["Dar es Salaam, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Annual Public Health Global Review 2023","year":""},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(19)32472-9","article-title":"The double burden of malnutrition: aetiological pathways and consequences for health","volume":"395","author":"Wells","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3059","DOI":"10.3390\/nu17193059","article-title":"Tackling global malnutrition and hunger in the final push toward the 2030 agenda","volume":"17","author":"Moramarco","year":"2025","journal-title":"Nutrients"},{"key":"ref4","volume-title":"Levels and Trends in Child Malnutrition: UNICEF\/WHO\/World Bank Group Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates \u2014 Key Findings of the 2023 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