Muffins nutritionally enriched with taioba flour (Xanthosoma sagittifolium)

Abstract Non-conventional food plants (NCFP) are an alternative for the developing of food products given their improved nutritional quality. Aiming to enrich minerals, this study utilized taioba leaves (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) to produce flour and prepare muffins. NCFP is an alternative for developing food products with better nutritional quality as being source of nutrients, thus indicating the relevance of this research. This investigation aimed to produce flour and prepare nutritionally enriched muffins, in addition to verifying their chemical composition and sensory acceptability. Taioba leaves were dried in a solar dryer and then ground in a knife mill. Three muffin formulations were prepared: a standard formulation and two formulations with different concentrations of taioba flour. The muffins were prepared with wheat flour, taioba flour, milk, margarine, eggs, baking powder, brown sugar, and crystal sugar, with the respective proportions of ingredients defined through laboratory tests. Physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory analyses were performed. According to the results of the ash and moisture analyses, the moisture content of the flour was below the legal limit, which is a maximum of 15%. Thus, these products proved to have good physical and chemical stability. The ash content was relatively high, indicating that the flour has mineral content. The muffins with taioba flour had a softer texture than the standard sample, without the presence of microorganisms, and presented sensory acceptability higher than 7.5 for all attributes, in addition to an intention to buy above 80%.