Nutritive value of various breads in Saudi Arabia

The nutritive value of nine Saudi breads prepared from wheat, millet and corn were measured chemically by proximate, minerals and vitamins analyses. On fresh weight basis, the bread contained 26.4-44.7% moisture, 6.6-10.4% protein, 0.4-2.4% fat, 40.2-60.6% available carbohydrates, 1.8-5.7% dietary fibre, 0.6-2.4% ash and 190-273 Kcal (metabolizable) per 100 g. All the breads were low in Ca (2.2-12.5 mg/100 g), P ranged from 41.9-320.8, Na 83.2-794.6, K 0.7-224.2 and Fe 1.6-7.8 mg/100 g. The contents of vitamin A (RE), thiamin and riboflavin ranged from 0-145 micrograms, 0.01-0.26 mg, 0.02-0.13 mg/100 g respectively. The bread contributed 12-18, 2-8 and 77-84% of the total food energy from protein, fat and carbohydrates respectively. Wheat bread (355 g/head/day) provided 45 and 61% of energy and protein requirements respectively at national level per person per day.