Formulation and Evaluation of Functional, Nutritional and Sensory Properties of Inulin Incorporated Ready to Eat Multi-Grain Breakfast Cereal

Abstract

Multi grain breakfast cereal is often considered as a healthy choice for people to increase their fiber intake. Chicory root fiber (inulin) is a natural soluble fiber with GRAS status that offers both nutritional (prebiotic fiber) and functional (texture and taste improvement) benefits for a variety of food applications. In this present study, attempts have been made to develop a fibre rich and sugar free Ready to Eat (RTE) breakfast cereal by addition of standardized proportion of inulin. The breakfast cereal was made by preparing a batter with composite flours consisting of oats flour, sprouted foxtail millet flour, quinoa flour, sprouted amaranth flour; beetroot powder, inulin powder, baking powder and strawberry essence. This batter was piped into rings using a plain nozzle and baked (170°C for 10-15 minutes). Breakfast cereals with varied proportion of inulin along with control samples were subjected for sensory analysis on a 9-point hedonic scale. Sample with highest sensory score (IBC3) and control sample (CBC1) were subjected to functional, nutritional and shelf life analysis. The moisture content, protein, fat, carbohydrate, dietary fiber and total calories of breakfast cereal (IBC3) were 3.3 ± 0.05%, 10.1 ± 0.1%, 5.24 ± 0.04%, 65.17 ± 0.5 g, 22.49 ± 0.5 g and 348 kcal respectively. The developed breakfast cereal was on par with the market samples for energy, fat and protein consisting of good amount of dietary fibre. The per serving nutrient adequacy of the developed breakfast cereal was 15.2 % for energy, 13.7 % for protein, 8.84 % for fat, 22.4 % for fibre, 9 % for iron, 33.1 % for calcium and 15.7 % for phosphorus of the RDA. Iron, calcium and phosphorus estimated were 3.84 ± 0.02 mg, 49.5 ± 0.1mg and 236.06 ± 0.01 mg respectively. The Free Fatty Acid (FFA) and Initial peroxide Value (IPV) of CBC3 and IBC1 increased slightly during storage without reaching their standard values which were set at no more than 30 meq.gof iodide/kg for FFA and 3 mg of KOH/100 g for IPV. Breakfast cereal can be stored at room temperature for 60 days. The current study recommends that inulin (16%) can be incorporated in the breakfast cereal which confers dual benefits of a sweetener and for fibre enrichment.