Nutritive Evaluation of Wheat Bran Biscuits Incorporated with Flaxseed

Demand for health oriented products such as sugar-free, low calorie and high fiber products are increasing. One such recent trend is to increase the fiber content in food products to overcome health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, colon cancer, high bad cholesterol levels and many more [1]. This work is aimed at determining the maximum acceptable level of flaxseed flour and wheat bran flour that is used for preparing biscuits having high nutritive content. Flaxseed is being used extensively for the development of functional foods [2]. It is an important oilseed crop which has gained importance since last few decades due to its unique nutrient profile. It comprises high amount of fiber and is a significant source of -linolenic acid in the diet of vegetarian people. It is evident from several studies conducted that flaxseed carries functional ingredients and provide health benefits. Omega-3 fatty acid, lignan and dietary fiber are major bioactive components of flaxseed which can be delivered through value added products. Flaxseed has been successfully exploited in preparation of various value added products. Commercially, all parts of flaxseed plant are exploited directly or after processing. Flaxseed consumption in the diet prevents serious diseases like coronary diseases, cancer, diabetes, obesity, gastrointestinal, renal and bone disorders. To the best of our knowledge, very limited review reports are available for commercial utilization of flaxseed in preparation of various value added products (bakery, dairy, extruded, snack, fermented and other traditional) and effect of flaxseed fortification on nutritional, physiochemical, phytochemical and sensory properties of these products [3]. Also, cardiovascular diseases are one of the major health problems all over the world. Various functional foods are being incorporated for health promotion and disease prevention. Flaxseed due to its alpha-linolenic acid content has a significant cardio-protective efficacy [4]. Biscuits contain high amount of fat and sugar, thus having high calorie but low nutrient density. Wheat bran is a good source of dietary fiber and protein and is thus a good candidate for nutritional enrichment of cereal foods [5]. Wheat bran is a low-cost by-product abundantly produced by the wheat flour industry [6]. It has relatively various applications in food industries due to its richness in polysaccharides carbohydrates, dietary fiber, protein which makes it a vital dietary element [7]. The aim of this study was acceptability of biscuit containing three different combinations of powders of wheat bran, flaxseed and wheat viz. , 25: 75: 0, 0: 50: 50, 20: 80: 0 were used to prepare 100gms flour mix. The wheat bran biscuit which was most acceptable i. e. , biscuit incorporated with 75 % flaxseed flour was sent to the Regional Food Research& Analysis Centre for nutritional analysis. A biscuit weighing 40gms was nutritionally evaluated. The test results revealed that the biscuit contained 28.50 % Fat, 10.72 % Protein, 54.98 % Carbohydrate, 519 K Cal/100g Energy and 2.03 % total Ash.