Effect of Germination on Mineral Bioavailability of Sorghum-Based Complementary Foods (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Good nutrition is essential for adequate growth and cognitive development of children and for protection against infection [1-4]. Many people living in developing countries depend on diets based on cereal staples. Such diets lack diversity, which may result in micronutrient deficiencies [5]. Minerals such as iron, zinc and calcium are essential micronutrients and play a vital role in growth, health and development of infants [6]. Zinc and iron are two of the micronutrients that are most often deficient in developing countries, with children and women of reproductive age especially at risk of such deficiencies. In children, mineral deficiency leads to poor growth, impaired immunity and increased morbidity from common infectious diseases and mortality [7]. Zinc and iron deficiency arises to a large extent from low contents of minerals in the diet and /or impaired bio-availability of minerals in the diet, largely attributable to the high phytic acid and tannin contents of the diets [7, 8]. Infant malnutrition due to nutritionally inadequate diets is one of the major concerns in Ethiopia. Children in rural Ethiopia are especially prone to micronutrient deficiencies as they eat from the family dish, which is predominantly plant-based [7].