Production of a functional snack from germinated brown rice fermented with baobab pulp (<i>Adansonia digitata</i> L.) as a starter

Abstract Background and Objectives Brown rice (BR) is becoming popular in functional food product development. To improve its utilization, it is necessary to subject BR to bioprocessing techniques such as germination. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of snacks developed from different rice types fermented with baobab pulp powder (BPP) as a starter. Findings The germinated BR (GBR) snack had higher protein, ash, soluble dietary fiber, resistant starch, total phenolic, carotenoid contents, and antioxidant activities than snacks from white rice (WR) and BR. The textural and sensory attributes of the snacks from GBR and WR were similar. The WR snack had a higher rapidly digestible starch and lower slowly digestible starch compared to the GBR snack. The inclusion of BPP increased protein, ash, riboflavin, dietary fiber, resistant starch, carotenoid contents, and antioxidant activities of all the samples. Conclusions GBR and BPP could serve as invaluable ingredients in producing nutritious and healthy snacks. Significance and Novelty Due to its health‐promoting qualities, utilizing GBR in product development is increasing. However, studies adopting GBR in traditional rice‐based products are limited; hence, the focus of this study.