ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Food Science Technology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1690627
Okara-Enriched Fermented Sorghum Instant Porridge: Effects on Mineral Bioaccessibility and Structural Properties
Provisionally accepted
- University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This study investigated the impact of okara inclusion and fermentation on bioaccessible minerals and structural properties of sorghum-based instant porridges. Fermented and unfermented porridges were formulated using sorghum, okara, and their blends (70:30 and 50:50). Mineral composition and bioaccessibility, as well as structural characterization, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), were analyzed. Okara inclusion elevated Fe and Zn contents, while fermentation improved their bioaccessibility. Blends with okara were richer in iron than their 100% sorghum counterparts by approximately 6-9% and 15-47% for fermented and unfermented porridge samples, respectively. Bioaccessible Fe increased by up to 194%, and Zn reached 32% compared to sorghum-only porridges. SEM revealed gelatinization and enzymatic breakdown, while XRD and FTIR confirmed altered starch crystallinity and molecular interactions. Specifically the FTIR spectra showed that the amide I and amide II bands, approximately 1642 cm⁻¹ and 1513 cm⁻¹, associated with C=O stretching and N–H bending of proteins, respectively, were stronger in porridge samples containing okara, which aligns with its higher protein content compared to sorghum These results highlight the potential of okara-fortified fermented sorghum porridge to deliver improved nutrition and foster circular food systems by transforming an agro-industrial by-product into a valuable ingredient.
Keywords: Sorghum, Okara, Fermentation, instant porridges, Mineral bioaccessibility
Received: 22 Aug 2025; Accepted: 08 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Adebo and Adeyanju. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Oluwafemi Ayodeji Adebo, oadebo@uj.ac.za
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.