Evaluation of technological, nutritional, and probiotic survival in gluten‐free composite synbiotic vermicelli

Abstract

SummaryThe demand to produce non‐dairy, thermostable synbiotic food has been rising dramatically. The food industry is promoting shelf‐stable, non‐dairy and gluten‐free alternatives while providing health products containing synbiotics, probiotics and prebiotics to cater to the vegan, lactose and gluten‐intolerant populations. This study was aimed at investigating the physicochemical and sensory attributes of dry and cooked gluten‐free vermicelli produced from a composite blend of pseudocereals (amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa) compared to wheat vermicelli. Further, B. coagulans IS2 spores were added to sample T2 (a blend of 50% amaranth, 30% buckwheat, and 20% quinoa) to produce synbiotic vermicelli. The order of quality of gluten‐free composite pseudocereal vermicelli samples in terms of technological and functional characteristics was T3 > T2 > T1. Further, T2 and control samples were highly preferred through sensory evaluation. The prebiotic properties of pseudocereals and psyllium husk were successfully utilised in the development of gluten‐free synbiotic vermicelli with potential health benefits to withstand probiotic B. coagulans spores in cooked vermicelli. The probiotic B. coagulans IS2 spores survived during the vermicelli production and cooking processes, and their survival count in cooked pasta was approximately 7.0 log10 CFU g−1 (9.0 log10 CFU/serving size of 50 g), which would be considered adequate to have beneficial effects on consumers.