Wheat Flour Pasta Combining Bacillus coagulans and Arthrospira platensis as a Novel Probiotic Food with Antioxidants

Abstract

Arthrospira platensis (Ap) and Bacillus coagulans (Bc) have been successfully used to develop functional foods, but a combination of both regarding functional implications in nutritional value and antioxidant capacity has not been explored. This work aimed to develop an artisanal wheat flour pasta with egg using 5% A. platensis and 1% B. coagulans GBI 6068 (labeled as Bc+Ap). Uncooked pasta was characterized regarding nutritional value; furthermore, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity by 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), pigment content, colorimetry assay, textural profile analysis, buffering capacity, and probiotic viability were carried out on uncooked and cooked pasta to assess the changes induced by cooking. The Bc+Ap pasta showed enhanced nutritional value with a significant increase in protein content (30.61%). After cooking, the pasta showed increased phenolic content (14.22% mg GAE/g) and antioxidant capacity (55.59% µmol Trolox equivalents/g and 10.88% µmol Fe+2/g) for ABTS and FRAP, respectively, as well as pigment content (6.72 and 1.17 mg/100 g) for chlorophyll a+b and total carotenoids, respectively, but relative impacts on colorimetric parameters in contrast to control (wheat flour pasta). Furthermore, Bc+Ap showed improved firmness (59%, measured in g), buffer capacity (87.80% μmol H+(g × ΔpH)−1), and good probiotic viability (7.2 ± 0.17 log CFU/g) after the cooking process.