Nutritional Composition of Commercial Sweet Buns in Malaysian Market

Background: The major strategy for prevention and treatment of diet-related disease is lifestyle modification, including controlled diet and physical activities. Since bread had been listed as one of the top ten foods consumed by Malaysian, the information of nutrient content in buns is needed for consumer to be aware of the nutrient intake from their food choices. The main objective of this study is to determine the nutritional composition of varieties of sweet buns sold in Malaysia.Method: A total of three to six brands from each type of bun (chocolate, coconut, kaya, potato and red bean) were sampled from local supermarkets in the Klang Valley, Malaysia using stratified sampling. The proximate composition, minerals, vitamins C, fatty acids, trans fatty acids and cholesterol were analysed using standard methods with the application of internal quality controls.Results: Carbohydrate was the major macronutrient in commercial buns ranging from 46.93 ± 3.72 to 54.73 ± 2.46 g/100 g. The highest protein content was found in the potato bun (9.15 ± 0.56 g/100 g) and the lowest protein content was in the kaya bun (7.13 ± 0.32 g/100 g). Fat content was in the range of 2.90 ± 1.37 to 8.98 ± 1.61 g/100 g. Major minerals content detected in buns were sodium, followed by potassium and calcium. Chocolate buns showed higher content of vitamin C (p<0.05) compared to kaya bun. Trans fatty acids were at trace level in all buns.Conclusion: These findings indicate that Malaysian commercial buns are good source of carbohydrates and with negligible level of trans fatty acids.