Title : Production of gluten-free cookies with black mulberry (Morus nigra) paste
Abstract:
Celiac (gluten intolerance), a disease caused by the consumption of gluten-containing foods, is now increasingly recognized by people with awareness and widespread among the people. The only effective treatment for this disease is the patient’s lifelong gluten-free diet. Functional foods are healthful foods that provide essential nutrients. Ranging from bread through to biscuits, cakes and pastries; bakery products are consumed all over the world and an ideal matrix by which functionality can be delivered to the consumer in an acceptable food. The consumption of dark-colored fruits is important for human health. The pigments found in these fruits have positive effects on improving human health or reducing the risk of disease. Mulberry is a fruit that belongs to the genus Morus of the Moraceae family. The mulberry production is also significant in Turkey. The most common breeding species are Morus alba (white), Morus rubra (red) and Morus nigra (black). The aim of this study is to investigate the utilization of black mulberry (Morus nigra) paste in order to enhance phenolic content and antioxidant activity of gluten-free cookies produced by quinoa or buckwheat flour. In this study, gluten-free cookies contained paste of black mulberry that naturally grown in the Eastern Black Sea Region at 3 different rates (0, 10 and 20%) were produced. Quality parameters of cookies were evaluated by determining moisture, ash, crude fibre, protein, lipid, mineral, total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity. The moisture, crude fiber and ash content of cookies were increased with the increasing level of fruit paste addition. However, no significant differences among fruit paste concentration with regard to protein and lipid content were observed. It was determined that quinoa flour had higher value of macroelements (Ca, K) and microelements (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu) than buckwheat flour. However, no significant difference among fruit paste concentration with regard to mineral content in cookies, except K, was observed. This could be attributed to the high K content of black mulberry paste. Both phenolic content and antioxidant activity values increased with increasing fruit paste concentration in cookies. According to the results, when the concentration of fruit paste was increased from 0% to 20%, the phenolic content of buckwheat cookies and quinoa cookies increased 32% and 43%, respectively. Additionally, the antioxidant capacity of cookies increased as well 64% and 254%, respectively.
