| Abstract
Puffed corn snacks are tasty and affordable cereal-based
food products which have a
relatively poor nutritional quality. Sesame seed is a rich source of essential amino and
fatty acids, phenolic compounds, tocopherols, and antioxidants. In this study, puffed
corn snacks were produced by incorporating sesame powder at 0% (control sample),
5%, 10%, and 15% levels in its formulation and stored at room temperature (24°C) for
60 days. Fatty acid composition, tocopherol, sesamin and sesamolin, phenolic compounds,
peroxide value (PV), acidity (AV), and sensory evaluation of the samples were
determined. The results indicate that oleic acid content increased and palmitic acid
decreased significantly (p < .05) in all the samples at 10% and 15% inclusion levels. The
content of phenolic compounds, γ-tocopherols,
sesamin, and sesamolin had significant
increases in all the formulated samples. PV results indicated that the formulated samples
had a higher stability when the ratio of sesame powder was increased, while the
AV values showed a significant increase during storage. Incorporation of 10% sesame
powder in the snack formulation had a positive effect on the stability, sensory, and
nutritional quality of the product. This approach can be used to modify nutritional
quality of this food product and introduce to food market as a relatively healthy snack. |