NUTRITIONAL FEATURES OF LEEK CULTIVARS AND EFFECT OF SELENIUM-ENRICHED LEAVES FROM GOLIATH VARIETY ON BREAD PHYSICAL, QUALITY AND ANTIOXIDANT ATTRIBUTES

Despite high nutritional value, A. porrum leaves are usually wasted. To evaluate the use efficiency of leek selenium fortified leaves in bread production, cultivar Goliath was selected among nine leek varieties based on quality and antioxidant characteristics. Fortified plants attained higher leaf content of Se and polyphenols compared to pseudo-stems. The addition of Se leaves increased bread polyphenol stability during baking, but it resulted in bread porosity decrease compared to both traditionally made bread and bread containing leaf powder of non-fortified plants. About 31 % of the daily required Se is provided by 100 g of bread enriched with Se.