Quality and antioxidant properties of instant noodles enhanced with common buckwheat flour
Highlights
► The eating quality of buckwheat enriched instant noodles was studied. ► The noodles texture, fat uptake and cooking loss were affected by protein content. ► With the addition of buckwheat, the L* values and rehydration rate were decreased. ► Rutin was detected in buckwheat enriched noodles with reasonable retention rate. ► The results shown that buckwheat enriched noodles can become a functional food.
Introduction
The pseudocereal, common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench), is a member of the Polygonaceae. The crop originated in China and is now widely cultivated for its value as a food ingredient. Buckwheat proteins are known for their well-balanced amino acid content (Ikeda and Asami, 2000) and are particularly rich in essential types (e.g., lysine and arginine). In addition, buckwheat proteins have high globulin and albumin contents, and are low in glutelin and prolamin (Pomeranz and Robbins, 1972). Based on chemical and immunological studies, buckwheat protein is a valuable dietary component for gluten sensitive individuals including those with coeliac disease.
Several flavonoids have been identified in buckwheat, i.e. rutin, quercetin, quercitin, kaempferol, orientin/isoorientin, and vitexin/isovitexin (Cai et al., 2004). The flavonoids from buckwheat were found to be effective in reducing blood cholesterol levels, keeping capillaries and arteries strong and flexible, improving blood microcirculation as well as protecting blood vessels from rupturing or forming clots (Cai et al., 2004; Griffith et al., 1994). These flavonoids also demonstrated antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities (Cai et al., 2004).
Of these flavonoids, rutin (vitamin P) is the major and most important flavonoid component in buckwheat, and is not found in the cereal grains (Holasova et al., 2002; Oomah and Mazza, 1996). Different cultivars of buckwheat may have varying contents of rutin (Ohsawa and Tsutsumi, 1995). According to Lin et al. (2009), buckwheat enriched food can provide beneficial health effects while preventing oxidation during processing. This is due to the natural antioxidant properties of rutin which may inhibit lipid peroxidation within the food.
With these therapeutic and functional benefits, a variety of food incorporating buckwheat have been produced and are widely consumed in China, Japan, Korea and Bhutan. For example, in Japan, soba noodles made with buckwheat flour are popular (Ikeda and Asami, 2000). Other products in which buckwheat has been blended with grains include multigrain pasta, bread, pancakes and cereal flakes, and research has been carried out to determine its suitability for use in such products.
Past studies found that spaghetti containing dark buckwheat and amaranth had significantly lower firmness values compared with that made with durum flour only (Rayas-Duarte et al., 1996). In a later study, Chillo et al. (2008) demonstrated that spaghetti colour changed with the addition of buckwheat flour, while the spaghetti cooking properties (cooking loss and cooking resistance) were similar to those of control samples. In another study, Lin et al. (2009) found that white bread enhanced with buckwheat was rated higher for flavour and mouth feel. The enhanced product also contained more rutin and quercetin which increased antioxidant activity.
Research on food production methods indicates that rutin retention is affected by the activity of the rutin degrading enzyme, flavonol 3-glucosidase as well as certain processing parameters (Kreft et al., 2006). Rutin degrading enzyme has been found in common buckwheat grain, particularly in the testa (Suzuki et al., 2002). Kreft et al. (2006) reported that hydrothermal treatment of buckwheat grain during the production of groats reduced rutin content. Their research indicated that rutin may have been degraded or combined with some other molecules, rendering it insoluble in the solvent used for analysis.
We have recently reported upon the addition of various ingredients (including microbial transglutaminase, emulsifier, water, acetylated potato starch and gum) into instant noodle formulations (Choy et al., 2010, Choy et al., 2012). It was found that the additional ingredients had a major impact on the textural and physical attributes of instant noodles particularly those made from lower protein wheat flour. However, there appear to have been no published studies on the addition of buckwheat into the formulations for this increasingly popular food. Accordingly, this study investigated the suitability of incorporating buckwheat flour into instant noodles. The eating quality (textural, colour and cooking attributes) and the presence of key antioxidant components were investigated to determine the influence of buckwheat in instant noodles.
Section snippets
Materials
Three types of flours were used in this study, i) Australian Soft, AS (Allied Mills, Melbourne, Australia), ii) Baker's (Weston Milling, Melbourne, Australia) and iii) common buckwheat, F. esculentum Moench (Kialla Pure Foods, Greenmount, Australia). The proximate composition of the flour samples was analysed according to AACC International (2000) Approved Methods 44-15A, 08-01 and 46-30 for the determination of moisture, ash and crude protein respectively. Starch damage (%) of flour was
Proximate analysis of wheat flour
The proximate composition of the three types of flour used in this study is tabulated in Table 1. The analyses showed that common buckwheat flour had the highest ash and moisture contents but the lowest starch damage value. Baker's had the highest protein content and starch damage compared to the other two flours.
Texture profile analysis (TPA)
The TPA parameters (hardness, cohesiveness, stickiness and adhesiveness) of buckwheat enhanced instant noodles are summarised in Table 2. Statistical analysis indicated that
Conclusion
Incorporating buckwheat into the formulation with Baker's flour had minimal effect on the textural attributes of instant noodles whereas softer texture was observed for noodles produced from AS flour. The addition of buckwheat flour affects both AS and Baker's flours by increasing cooking loss, and decreasing rehydration rate as well as optimum cooking time. In addition, noodles made by incorporating buckwheat, produced lower L* values corresponding to a brownish colour of the noodles. The
Acknowledgements
We gratefully recognize the contribution of the Food Science and Applied Chemistry laboratory staff in the School of Applied Sciences, RMIT. We would also like to acknowledge the assistance provided by Ms Cassandra Walker and Dr Joe Panozzo.
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