Physical properties and glycaemic response of tapioca noodles fortified with herb mixture

Abstract

High noodle consumption is associated with an increased risk of generative diseases due to noodles' relatively high glycaemic response. Plants containing high phenolic compounds can reduce the glycaemic response of carbohydrate-rich foods. The present work thus aimed to evaluate the physical properties and glycaemic response of tapioca noodles fortified with a mixture of turmeric (T), cinnamon (C), and guava leaves (G) powder. The proportions of herbs (T: C: G) were 0.00: 0.00: 0.00 g (C1); 1.00: 0.50: 1.50 g (C2); 1.33: 0.67: 1.00 g (C3); 1.67: 0.83: 0.50 g (C4); and 2.00: 1.00: 0.00 g (C5). Herb mixtures increased the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the noodles. Noodles with higher tensile strength (TS) were harder and less swollen because the water absorption capacity (WAC) was lower, but effect of the formulas on the oil absorption capacity (OAC) varied. Area under the curve (AUC) of blood sugar levels showed that C2 noodles had the smallest area (2,321 units) as compared to C1 (3,066 units) and C5 (3,241 units) noodles, but the difference was not statistically significant, thus indicating that the glycaemic responses of these noodles were similar to that of the original noodles when consumed by healthy volunteers.