Integration of sprouting and extrusion for development of legume-cereal-based pasta

Legumes and whole grains are least preferred in processed food products owing to their lower digestibility, palatability, higher cooking time, and the presence of antinutritional factors. Sprouted flours of cereals and legumes provide nutritional advantages, and can get beyond these limitations. However, compositional differences also cause technical difficulties in processing. Consequently, research is necessary to determine the best combinations. The present work assessed the feasibility of substituting unique combinations of green gram, Bengal gram, pearl millet, and wheat with semolina in pasta. Two optimal formulations were established; one with a combination of sprouted wheat:sprouted Bengal gram:semolina (25:25:50); and the other with sprouted pearl millet:sprouted green gram:semolina (30:20:50). The consumer acceptability study yielded a good sensory score of 7.8 - 8.0 for sensory acceptability. These optimised formulations exhibited a notable increase in protein content (13.26 and 13.48%). The high in vitro protein digestibility (77.51 and 76.18%) confirmed higher bioaccessibility of protein. Meanwhile, tannins and phytates exhibited a significant decrease (p < 0.05) at 160.64 and 151.118 mg tannic acid equivalent/100 g, and 0.301 and 0.330 g/100 g, respectively. Starch and total sugars were 56.11 and 54.99%, and 8.83 and 10.50%, respectively. The DPPH inhibition activity for optimised combinations was 30.31 and 29.87%. The hardness decreased, and water absorption and cooking losses increased with higher levels of sprouted flour. The inclusion of sprouted flours improved the protein by 26 - 28%, total mineral content by 221 - 282%, and DPPH inhibition activity by 178 - 183%. The optimised combinations could effectively be utilised as nutritionally valuable pasta products based on sensory and quality parameters.