A recent study published in the Journal of Food Processing and Nutrition identified two potential ingredients for fortified bread. In the multi-university study, researchers looked at byproducts from carob (Ceratonia siliqua) and seaweeds as potential ingredients for fortified flour.
Researchers studied seven types of seaweed to determine which was optimum for breadmaking.
The results revealed that carob byproducts had significantly higher levels of total phenol compared to seaweeds. In particular, the seed peels had a total Gallic acid equivalent (GAE) of 99.71 micromoles of GA extract per gram (umol GAE/g) of peel.
The brown alga Himanthalia elongata had the highest total phenol level among the seaweeds examined.
In vitro tests, including DPPH, ORAC, and TEAC, revealed that carob byproducts had better antioxidant activity than seaweeds.
H. elongata had the most activity among the seaweeds.
In sum, the researchers identified that both carob byproducts and seaweeds can be used in developing fortified bread.
Rico D, Linaje AAD, Herrero A, Asensio-Vegas C, Miranda J, Martinez-Villaluenga C, Luis DAD, Martin-Diana AB. CAROB BY-PRODUCTS AND SEAWEEDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUNCTIONAL BREAD. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. 2018;42(8). DOI: 10.1111/jfpp.13700