Biological, physiochemical and sensory evaluation of hard biscuit enriched with a powder of moringa leaves (Moringa oleifera L.)

Salama, M. A.; El-Sharnouby, G.; Nassar, A.

doi:10.21608/aasj.2022.267602

Biological, physiochemical and sensory evaluation of hard biscuit enriched with a powder of moringa leaves (Moringa oleifera L.)

Document Type : Research article

Authors

¹ Food Science and Technology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt

² Food Science and Technology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/aasj.2022.267602

Abstract

Moringa oleifera is a tree of a not well-understood plant since it has not been fully studied all over the world. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the addition of Moringa oleifera leaves powder (MOLP) on the biological, physiochemical, and sensory evaluation of hard biscuits. MOLP can be used as a functional food ingredient for both food and organic applications. The proximate analysis showed that Moringa leaves are rich in fiber, protein, carbohydrate, and ash (13.68, 21.60, 54.83, and 4.07 g/100 g, respectively). Moringa oleifera leaves are a reliable source of essential minerals such as Na (09.10), K (20.82), Mg (03.36), Ca (19.30) and Fe (18.64) mg/100 g. The amino acid composition of MOLP contained 8 essential and 9 nonessential amino acids, and the percentage of these was determined. The total phenolic content was 52 mg GAE/g. Meanwhile, the antioxidant activity was 85%. HPLC analysis of phenolic acids and flavonoids was performed. The proximate analysis and mineral composition of biscuits fortified with 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2% MOLP showed that all treatments increased the mineral, protein, and amino acid contents by increasing the percentage of Moringa leaves powder compared with the control. Sensory accepts up to 1.5% of MOLP with a hard biscuit. MOLP decreased glucose levels at different concentrations compared to the control, while hemoglobin levels increased with increasing Moringa leaves. A similar test was observed for body weight. The results have shown the possibility of using dried Moringa oleifera leaves powder to improve the nutritional values of hard biscuits with sensory acceptability and biological effects.

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