Composition, texture, sensorial quality, and biological activity after in vitro digestion of durum wheat pasta enriched with carrot waste extract encapsulates

Aim of this research was to evaluate durum-wheat pasta enriched with encapsulated carrot waste extracts in oil, obtained by freeze drying (FDE) or spray drying techniques (SDE). Five pastas (control, enriched with 10% FDE, or 10% SDE, or 20% FDE, or 20% SDE) were evaluated for furosine, carotenoids, tocols, colour, in vitro bioactivities, cooking performance, texture and sensory quality. The encapsulates added to the enriched pastas alpha-carotene (0.58-1.24 mg/kg), beta-carotene (1.43-3.29 mg/kg), cis-beta-carotene (0.51-1.11 mg/kg) and total tocols (10.9-33.6 mg/kg). The carotenes were stable and the tocols diminished (-13%) during pasta manufacturing; both decreased (2-18% and 4-15%, respectively) during cooking, but they were still more abundant in the enriched pastas. Antioxidant, anti-hyperglycaemic, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative activities after in vitro digestion of cooked pastas improved, while sensory acceptability of control and 10% enriched pastas were similar. The encapsulates addition significantly improved the nutritional and technological qualities of durum-wheat pasta.

Automated summary

The aim of this research was to evaluate the quality of durum-wheat pasta enriched with encapsulated carrot waste extracts. The study found that carotenoids were stable during pasta manufacturing, while tocols decreased during both manufacturing and cooking processes, but were still more abundant in the enriched pastas. Additionally, the addition of encapsulated carrot waste extracts significantly improved the nutritional and technological qualities of the pasta.