Vol. 12, Issue 11 (2023)

Author(s):
Neha, Veenu Sangwan, Rajni, Sonia, Nirav Umeshbhai Joshi, Reema Devi and Charan Singh

Abstract:
The growing trend of enhancing the nutritional value and bioavailability of baked goods by incorporating natural product components like pomegranate peel is gaining traction. Pomegranate peel, known for its medicinal and antioxidant properties, is often overlooked as a by-product in the pomegranate processing industry. In a recent study, a multigrain cake-rusk was developed by adding pomegranate peel powder (PPP) to a mix of wheat flour, chickpea flour, and pearl millet flour. As PPP content increased, sensory evaluations indicated a decrease in color, aroma, texture, taste, and overall acceptability scores. Proximate composition analysis showed that PPP-enriched cake-rusk had significantly higher levels of protein, fat, ash, and crude fiber compared to a control cake-rusk made only with wheat flour. Dietary fiber content also increased with greater PPP incorporation. Furthermore, the PPP-enriched cake-rusk exhibited higher levels of total phenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity. In terms of digestibility, PPP-added cake-rusk had lower in-vitro protein and starch digestibility than the control. Microbial analysis revealed reduced bacterial and fungal counts with increased PPP content, highlighting improved antimicrobial properties, aligning with previous studies on pomegranate waste. Over time, during storage, all cake-rusk samples saw declining organoleptic scores, with the control cake-rusk maintaining higher scores than the PPP-assisted version.