Nutraceutical characterization and shelf life analysis of millet incorporated nutrition bars

Abstract

Recently, the nutraceutical sector of the food trade is unfolding, and designer foods such as nutrition bars have found their place in this competitive indus-try. The inclusion of underutilized food sources in the development of new value-added products is ingenious. Millets, the indigenous crop, are a good source of nutrients. The Nutri-cereal is still lacking commercial success and deserves recognition in the food-processing sector. In the current study, fox-tail and pearl millet are used to develop foxtail millet meal replacement bar (FMRB) and pearl millet protein bar (PPB), respectively. Three variants of each type (25%, 27.5%, and 30% incorporation of millets) were developed to derive the nutritionally preferred variants. Estimation of macronutrients, essential amino acids, and vitamin content was done. The storage stability of the selected variants was evaluated for 42 days under accelerated condi-tions. The peroxide value, moisture content, water activity, total plate count, and yeast & mold count was assessed. The result revealed, among the vari-ants, 30% FMRB (V-3) and 25% PPB (V-4) are the nutritionally finest bars. The shelf-life testing pointed out that the protein bar deteriorates rapidly than the meal replacement bar. The correlation between the nutrient composition and shelf-life assessment factors indicated the shelf-life parameters negatively correlate with carbohydrates present in the bars. However, fat and protein have a positive correlation with shelf-life parameters (r= 1.00, p<0.01). Favor-able storage conditions and appropriate packing material that is conducive to retain the stability of the product can extend the shelf-life. Millet nutrition bars would revolutionize the agriculture and food industry. Thus, increasing the consumption of millets.