Effect of Cereal Brans Supplementation on Quality Characteristics of Various Indigenous Products

S. Sharma， H. P. S. Nagi， B. Singh and K. Priya

Department of Food Science and Technology， Punjab Agricultural University， Ludhiana 141004， India

Received: April 6， 2011 / Published: July 20， 2011.

Abstract: The effect of using different cereal brans (wheat， rice， oat and their combination) at different levels (0， 5， 10%) in different indigenous products (Balushahi， Mathi， Kulcha and Paratha) on color， texture and sensory quality was studied. The addition of cereal bran decreased the “L” values and increased the “a” value of all the developed indigenous products. Supplementation of different cereal bran had significant effect on texture of the developed indigenous products. Overall hardness of the products decreased with addition of cereal brans. Among various cereal bran levels used， 10% supplementation showed maximum hardness in all types of products. Cereal bran supplementation significantly improved the protein and fibre content of all indigenous products. On the basis of physical analysis and sensory attributes， it was concluded that cereal brans can be substituted upto 5% (rice bran and bran in combination) and 10% levels(wheat bran and oat bran) in whole wheat flour and maida for developing indigenous products without adversely affecting quality attributes.

Key words: Cereal brans， balushahi， mathi， kulcha， paratha， supplementation， quality.

1. Introduction

Understanding the food systems of indigenous peoples and the strengthening of these systems in the context of food security and nutrition is an issue of emerging importance. Indigenous food systems offer a plethora of biodiversity for the diet and are good with respect to nutrition， positive dietary behavior and other perspectives related to human well-being.

Healthy food is becoming a fast-growth category， particularly in cash-rich middle class Indian. Rising awareness and affluence have made health food products accessible to a larger segment of the population. Consumer interest in healthy functional foods has resulted in the need for food products with versatile health-benefiting properties. Increased awareness of consumer health and interest in employing functional foods to achieve a healthy lifestyle has resulted in the demand for food products with versatile health-benefiting properties.

These functional materials come from wide variety of plant sources which provide important nutraceuticals components that may be used in food systems. In particular， cereal bran is recognized as one of the important dietary substances needed for good health [1]. Bran is a major by-product obtained during the process of milling. Cereal bran has been associated to provide vast range of human health benefits such as lowering serum cholesterol， reducing coronary heart disease， reducing symptoms of diabetes and hypertension [2].

Both nutritional value and functional properties of fibre are important in potential development of fiber enriched foods such as baking， snacks， drinks， cereals and meat products [3]. It can be used in formulation of foods， resulting in texture modification and enhancement of food stability during production and storage. There is need to promote food-based approaches that draw on indigenous food systems relevant to classic problems of hunger and nutrient deficiencies. It has been observed that most of the commonly consumed traditional products are developed from refined wheat flour (maida) which has low nutritive value. Several studies have been carried out showing potential enrichment of wheat based cereal products with cereal brans. However little research has been carried out on the influence of different cereal brans on commonly prepared indigenous products. Therefore， the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of incorporating graded levels of cereal brans from wheat， rice， oat and their combination on quality and sensory characteristics of selected indigenous products that will enhance the nutritive value as well as will meet the fibre requirement of consumers of all age groups.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1 Raw Material

2.1.1 Cereal brans and other ingredients

Wheat bran was collected from Ludhiana Flour Mill， Ludhiana. Rice bran was purchased from A.P. Solvex Pvt. Ltd.， Dhuri， and Punjab， India. Oat bran (Baggry’s) was purchased from local market. Wheat four， refined wheat flour， spices and oil used for preparation of selected indigenous products were procured from local market.

2.1.2 Physico-Chemical Composition of Products

Approved methods were used to determine ash and protein (NX 5.7) of cereal brans [4]. Fat content was determined using semi automatic Soxtec (FOSS Company) equipment. Crude fiber was estimated by heating samples with H2SO4 and NaOH using Fibertec(FOSS Company). Calorific value (KCal) was calculated by Bomb Calorimeter (Parr Instrument Company).

2.1.3 Texture

Texture of the products was analyzed by using Texture Analyzer (Stable Micro System， Model TAHDi) with P/2N needle probe. The probe test speed and hold time was 1 mm/s and 5 s. The probe travel distance was optimized for 5 mm. Texture was expressed in unit of Newton， measuring the force required to penetrate the product.

2.1.4 Colour

Color of the products was measured using Hunter Lab colorimeter (MiniScan XE Plus) after calibration with white and black tiles. Color readings were expressed by Hunter values for L， a and b. “L”indicates lightness and measure black to white (0-100);“a” indicated hue on green (-) to red (+) axis and “b”indicated hue on blue (-) to yellow (+) axis.

2.1.5 Blending of Samples

Different cereal bran was blended with refined wheat flour (maida) and whole wheat flour at 5 and 10 percent levels singly and for combination blend wheat， rice and oat brans were mixed at a ratio of 2:1.5:1.5 followed by thorough sieving. Prepared blends were used for preparation of the selected indigenous products i.e. chapatti， balushahi， kulcha and mathi.

2.1.6 Raw Material for Products

The control balushahi was prepared by adding 6 cups of maida， 1/2 tsp baking soda， ? tsp cardamom powder， ghee for frying， ? cup of Dahi yogurt; for syrup， 8 cups Sugar， 3 cups water.

2.1.7 Reciepe for Kulcha

Control kulcha was developed by 4 cups of maida， ? tsp salt， ? tsp baking soda， 2 tbsp ghee， ? cup yogurt， ? cup ghee for basting， maida for dusting and rolling dough. 3? cups wheat flour， 2 tbsp oil for frying， 1? cup of water for dough preparation， flour for dusting to roll out dough were used for preparation of paratha.

2.1.8 Reciepe for Mathi

Mathi was developed using 250 gms flour， 1/2 tsp ajwain seeds， 60 gms ghee， 1/4 cup water， 1 tsp salt， 1 tsp crushed black peppercorn， 1/4 tsp soda bicarbonate， ghee for deep frying. Different cereal brans were added in all the products at 5 and 10% levels based on flour weight.

2.2 Preparation of Products

2.2.1 Balushahi

Water was boiled and sugar was added for preparing syrup. Syrup was cooked till two thread consistency(two threads are formed， measurement of sugar consistency) was achieved. Donuts were prepared by mixing maida， baking soda and cardamom. One tbsp yogurt was added at a time and kneaded to form very stiff dough. The dough was divided into 1 to 1? balls. Ghee was preheated in the deep fryer. The center was slightly depressed giving it a shape of balushahi. The doughnuts were fried till golden brown and then dipped in the syrup for few minutes and then removed.

2.2.2 Kulcha

Maida， salt and baking soda were mixed and sifted well. This dry-mix was allowed to set aside. Liquid-mix of Yogurt and ghee were mixed， beaten well and set aside. Liquid-mix was added to dry-mix to make dough. The dough was kneaded for 10 to 15 minutes. Balls were developed from the dough， slightly oiled and covered with damp cloth for about 2 to 4 hours at room temperature. Oven was preheated to 450o F. The balls were rolled out to form a round， or oval shape like kulcha， brushed with ghee and then baked.

2.2.3 Paratha

Wheat flour required water was mixed for preparing soft dough. The dough was divided into 10 to 12 portions. Each portion was rolled into 125 to 150 mm. (5″ to 6″) diameter round and brush with melted ghee， folded and rolled with rolling pin. Paratha was cooked on a hot tava turning once. After a minute， little ghee was added around the edges of the paratha， which swelled it up. It was turned again and the other side was fried and cooked till the brown patches appeared on both sides.

2.2.4 Mathi

Flour， salt， ajwain seeds， crushed black pepper were added into a large bowl and rubbed in the Ghee. The dough was kneaded for at least 5 minutes until soft and springy， then left aside for ? an hour to rest. Then it was again kneaded and divided into equal sized balls and pressed with a rolling pin. Each rolled mathi was pricked using a toothpick. The oil was heated in a wok and the mathis were fried on a medium heat until golden brown on both sides.

2.2.5 Sensory Evaluation

Acceptability of the developed cereal bran supplemented indigenous products was determined using nine-point hedonic scale as follows: very good(8-9)， good (6-7)， fair (4-5)， poor (2-3) and very poor(0-1). An average score of ten judgements was determined for each product [5].

2.3 Design of Experiment and Statistical Analysis

Experiment was suitably designed aiming to investigate the effect of incorporation of different cereal brans (WB， RB， OB and their combination) on sensory characteristics and nutritive quality of the selected products. The data was analyzed using factorial design [6].

Table 1 Proximate composition* of raw materials.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1 Proximate Composition of Raw Materials

Table 1 represents the proximate composition of wheat flour and cereal brans (wheat bran， rice bran， and oat bran). All the ingredients possessed variation statistically with respect to their chemical constituents. 3.2 Effect of Cereal Bran Supplementation on Quality of Mathi

Color is the most important parameter for acceptability of the final product. The effect of different cereal bran supplementation on color of Mathi at different levels i.e. 0， 5 and 10 percent is exhibited in Table 2. Supplementation of brans has appreciable effect on color of the mathi. Lightness value (“L”) of the product ranged from 45.34 to 51.96. With increase in supplementation of bran， the value of “L” decreased significantly. Maximum “L” value was observed at 5 % level of wheat bran whereas minimum was observed at 10% level of supplementation of rice bran. The hue green (-a) varied from 6.11 to 9.28. At 10 percent level of supplementation maximum “a” value for all types of bran was recorded. The hue yellow (“b”) decreased from 33.39 to 16.25 with increase in level of supplementation from 5 to 10%. Maximum “b” value was observed in control (33.39) and minimum at 10% rice bran supplementation (16.25). Kaya [7] reported that many reactions can affect color during processing of foods like pigment degradation， browning reaction and recrystallization of some compounds.

The effect of cereal bran supplementation at different levels had significant effect on texture of mathi. With supplementation of different cereal brans， the force required by needle to penetrate the mathi increased significantly. The supplemented mathi with cereal brans required less force than control mathi.

Overall acceptability scores of mathi differed significantly. Supplementation of oat bran enhanced the taste and texture of mathi to significant level and was highly acceptable. Lebesi and Tzia [8] also reported similar results. The acceptability of mathi was reduced on incorporation of rice bran and bran in combination， due to poor texture and off flavor produced by both the brans.

3.3 Effect of Cereal Bran Supplementation on Quality of Balushahi

Table 3 shows the change of L， a and b values with supplementation of different cereal brans at different levels. Lightness of balushahi decreased with increase in level of supplementation of different cereal brans. Maximum “L” value was observed for control (49.31) followed by samples with 5% supplemented oat bran(45.46). The “a” value ranged from 10.98 to 19.90. The redness value was maximum in sample with 10 percent bran in combination (19.9) and minimum in sample with 5% rice bran (11.99) supplemented samples. Overall redness value increased with increase in level of supplementation. The yellowness or “b” value decreased significantly as the bran level increased. Maximum yellowness was observed in samples without any supplementation (21.20) and minimum in 10% rice bran (16.39) supplemented samples. Lebesia and Tzia [8] observed that cereal bran containing cake had dark crumb color and its “L” value decreased significantly with incorporation of cereal bran as well as with its increasing level.

The textural profile of balushahi significantly improved on addition of cereal bran. Maximum force required by needle to rupture or penetrate balushahi was at 10% level of supplementation of different cereal bran especially with bran in combination (0.290 N) and minimum in case of 5% rice bran supplemented samples (0.08 N) indicating loss of bond in the inner structure itself. Similar results were reported by Knuckles [9] and Lebesi and Tzia [8]. Just like mathi， addition of fibrous ingredients from sources wheat bran， rice bran， oat bran and bran in combination beyond certain level reduced the overall acceptability.

Overall acceptability of balushahi was not affected by cereal bran supplementation except rice bran. Overall acceptability of balushahi supplemented with 5 and 10% wheat bran were at par with that of control. Rice bran decreased the overall acceptability of balushahi due to off flavor and high fat content increased the rancidity in the product.

3.4 Effect of Cereal Bran Supplementation on Quality of Kulcha

The color parameters (L， a and b) for kulcha is shown in Table 4. Increase in bran level from 0 to 10% led to significant increase in darkness of kulcha. Highest “L” value was observed in case of control(72.29) and lowest in 10 percent oat bran supplementation (52.07). Increase in redness and decrease in yellowness were observed as bran level increased from 0 to 10%. At 10% level of supplementation of different cereal brans， “a” value for wheat bran， rice bran， oat bran and bran in combination were 4.31， 9.47， 8.30 and 4.00 respectively. At 10% supplementation level rice bran recorded highest yellowness (21.39) followed by oat bran (20.58)， wheat bran (19.71) and brans in combination (19.21). Similar observations were reported by Gajula [10].

The texture of kulcha was affected significantly with type and level of supplementation. The peak force required by needle reduced significantly as compared to control. Significant increase in force was observed for each type of cereal bran with increase in level of supplementation. Basinskeine [11] observed that bread with bran additions at 20% level were significantly harder， less springy cohesive crumb texture than control. Similarly， Sharma and Chauhan [12] also reported that bread firmness increased significantly with increasing levels of bran in bread. As observed for kulcha， results for overall acceptability were mixed. Kulcha enriched with 5 percent wheat bran， 5 and 10 percent oat bran were found to be most acceptable whereas 5 percent rice bran， 5 percent bran in combination were at par with control. Similar studies revealed that incorporating cereal bran in the food products (e.g. bakery products such as bread or baked confectioneries) afforded a good taste without deteriorating the volume of bakery products or baked confectioneries.

Table 2 Effect of cereal bran supplementation on quality of mathi.

Table 5 Effect of cereal bran supplementation on quality of Paratha.

3.5 Effect of Cereal Bran Supplementation on Quality of Paratha

All color parameters i.e. “L”， “a” and “b” values for paratha are expressed in Table 5. It is evident from the table that lightness and redness were affected by level of addition of different cereal brans. The “L” value of paratha decreased with increase in level of supplementation of different cereal brans (46.07 to 38.21). “L” value at 10 percent level of supplementation was lowest as compared to control. Redness of paratha increased significantly with increase in level of cereal bran supplementation as compared to control. The “b” value significantly reduced with increase in supplementation of cereal brans from 0 to 10%.

The force required by needle to penetrate the paratha increased significantly with increase in supplementation of bran. Maximum force (0.12 N) was required in case of samples without any supplementation followed with 10% wheat bran supplementation. Leelavathi and Rao [13] observed that color and texture of biscuit became slightly darker and harder respectively， beyond 3% level of bran addition.

Overall acceptability was determined on the basis of quality score obtained on evaluation of appearance， texture， flavor， aroma and taste. Addition of different type and level of cereal bran significantly affected the overall acceptability of paratha. Paratha with 5 and 10 percent wheat bran and oat bran supplementation were found to be most acceptable as compared to rice bran and combination of bran. This observation is in accordance with Shenoy and Prakash [14].

Table 6 Composition of products developed on cereal bran supplementation.

3.6 Effect of Cereal Bran Supplementation on Proximate Composition of Indigenous Products

Proximate composition of best accepted levels was carried out. The composition of products at best accepted levels (on basis of sensory scores) developed with cereal bran supplementation is presented in Table 6. Higher values for fat， crude fiber， ash and energy was recorded in the products with 5 percent rice bran and 10 percent oat bran supplementation in mathi. Addition of rice bran to wheat flour increased the contents of proteins， lysine and dietary fiber in bread and cookies proportionately to the level of substitution[12]. All the products with different type and level of bran differed significantly from each other with respect to control. Bran in combination (2% WB + 1.5% RB + 1.5% OB) also possessed good amount of crude protein(11.99) next to 10% oat bran (13.06) supplemented samples. Bran enrichment in products increased the nutritional aspects as compared to control products. Anjum [15] reported that protein， fiber and ash increased with increase in level of replacement of wheat bran in cakes.

4. Conclusion

From the results， it can be concluded that cereal brans as a nutrition supplement can be added upto 5%(rice bran and bran in combination) and 10% (wheat bran and oat bran) levels without affecting the quality characteristics and nutritional profile of the indigenous products. Thus， supplementation of cereal brans in whole wheat flour and maida at home and commercial level enhances the nutritional and functional characteristics of indigenous products.

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