Evaluation of functional and rheological properties of the composite flour from oat, wheat and moringa tree leaves

Abstract

The aim of this research was to evaluate the chemical, functional and rheological properties of the blended flour consisting of wheat, oat and moringa leaves to determine their potential for noodle production. The flour was mixed considering wheat as base flour (control) and taking equal proportions of moringa powder and oat flour at a ratio of 50–100 and 5–50%, respectively. The flour was analyzed for proximate composition (moisture, protein, fiber, fat and ash) functional properties (water and oil absorption capacity), pasting, farinogram and gluten content properties. The protein content was recorded as 11.02 ± 0.03 for wheat flour (C); 13.20 ± 0.02 for oat flour; and 28.75 ± 0.75 for moringa leaf powder. The final viscosity pasting property of the control flour was higher (1896 RVU) and decreased along with increased blending ratios (927RVU) in M5. The water absorption capacity of flour was increased (39.94 ± 0.07 in M1 to 41.5 ± 0.50 in M5) as the amount of blending ratio oat and moringa flour increased, while the oil absorption capacity decreased (39.85 ± 0.23 in M1, 35.50 ± 0.12 in M5). The analysis results indicated that the blended flours has shown the better potential to produce noodles of good nutritional value in compared to single wheat flour noodles.