Improving Antioxidants and Physicochemical Properties of Wild Rice Noodles by Fortification With Carrot Powder

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives Wild rice (WR), a nutritious cereal rich in phytochemicals, remains underutilized despite its health benefits. This study explored deep purple (DP), purple sun hybrid (PSH), purple haze (PH), cosmic purple (CP), and vistaric sky blue (VSB) carrot powders as fortificants in WR noodles at 10%, 20%, and 30% levels in enhancing total phenolic content (TPC), total anthocyanin content (TAC), antioxidant activities (AAs), and physical properties. Findings Fortifying WR noodles with 30% carrot powder (PSH, PH, CP, and VSB) significantly enhanced TAC, except DP, which peaked at 20%. Similarly, TPC increased 1.5–8‐fold, with the highest in PH > PSH > DP > CP > VSB at 20%–30%, while PH at 30% showed the highest AA with DPPH (677%), FRAP (371%), and ABTS (121%). Lightness ( L *) was highest at 30% CP, and hardness at 10% showed no significant difference from 100% WR noodles ( p > 0.05), but higher concentrations reduced hardness and increased porosity. Conclusion The AA, TPC, and TAC of WR noodles were enhanced post‐fortification with purple carrot powders, indicating potential health benefits, with 10% carrot fortification having no significant effect on the texture of the noodles. Significance and Novelty WR consumption may increase through noodle consumption while providing functional and nutritious food with potential health benefits.