Utilization of Defatted Mustard and Garden Cress Seeds Flour in the Production of Highly Nutritious Noodles

Defatted yellow mustard and/or garden cress seed flours were incorporated into noodle formulations at levels up to 20% with the aim of producing noodles with higher nutritional benefits. Nutritional value and quality characteristics of noodles were investigated. Macronutrients, mineral content, amino acids profile, protein quality parameters, cooking quality and sensory characteristics of noodles were studied. Results showed that incorporation of defatted seed flours resulted in an increase in protein and fiber contents up to 1.41 and 4.62 times than the control ones, respectively, while carbohydrate and fat contents were decreased. Noodles containing defatted seed flour had considerably higher amounts of minerals (e.g. calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, and zinc). Improvement in the essential amino acid profile of the produced noodles was observed with higher values of essential amino acid index (EAAI), biological value (BV) and protein efficiency ratio (PER). Cooking quality tests showed that incorporation of defatted mustard and/or garden cress seed flours into noodle formulations led to a higher cooking loss, water uptake, and volume increase. Sensory evaluation indicated that all noodles containing defatted mustard and/or garden cress seed flours were acceptable with regard to color, softness, stickiness, taste, odor and overall acceptability. However, noodles containing defatted garden cress flour had significantly lower, but still acceptable scores.