Cereals & Grains Association
Log In

Novel fiber-rich lentil flours as snack-type functional foods: an extrusion cooking effect on bioactive compounds
P. MORALES (1), J. De J. Berrios (2) (1) University Complutense of Madrid, Madrid, Spain; (2) USDA-ARS-WRRC, Albany, CA, U.S.A..

Novel snack-type functional foods based on extruded pulse flours could convey the related health benefit of their bioactive compounds, provide a gluten-free alternative to consumers, and potentially increase their consumption. Lentils (<i>Lens culinaris</i>) and other pulses are foods with a remarkable nutritional profile and healthy compounds with beneficial potential impact on human wellbeing, including glycemic and cholesterol indexes stabilization, body lipids accumulation reduction, intestinal transit promotion, and may help in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and some cancers. Extrusion cooking is a high temperature, short-time process in which food materials are cooked by the combination of temperature under pressure and mechanical shear, resulting in molecular transformation and chemical reactions. Lentil-based formulations containing glulten-free and gluten containing ingredients, such as wheat bran, were extruded processed into prototype snack products. Extrusion caused a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in the trypsin inhibitors content and completely inactivated lectin, in all processed samples. Additionally, the process reduced the content of inositol phosphates by about 70%. While at the same time, extrusion promoted an increase on alfa-galactosides of 31%, and increased the total phenolics and hydroxycinnamic acids from 2 mg GAE/g to 9.1 mg GAE/g and from 7.5 to 11.2 mg FAE/g, respectively in wheat-brand formulation; as well as hydroxybenzoic acids, from 2.9 to 5.7 mg GAE/g in the gluten-free formulation. All these compounds are related to beneficial health effects. These results highlight the potential of novel lentil-based formulations as functional ingredients in order to develop healthier snack-type foods that would encourage the consumption of pulses in children and young adults.

View Presentation