Sorghum- and Chickpea-Based Ready-to-Eat Extrudate Flakes: Quality Attributes and In Vitro Digestibility

Abstract

The study is aimed at the development of whole sorghum-based ready-to-eat extruded snacks using chickpea at different barrel temperature (BT) (130, 145, and 170°C) and feed moisture (FM) (14, 16, and 18%) conditions, and quality changes on the functionality aspects of prepared snacks were evaluated. Data revealed that with increment in barrel temperature and feed moisture, the antioxidant properties, viz., ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) inhibition, total phenolic content (TPC), and hardness of the flakes amplified; however, elevated barrel temperature and decreased feed moisture enhanced the expansion ratio, water solubility index, and overall acceptability of lakes. The results of the ( $L^{\ast }$ , $a^{\ast }$ , and $b^{\ast }$ ) color values indicated that the rates of Maillard’s reaction were higher when the BT and FM processes were intensified. Enhanced extrusion conditions (BT and FM) lead to higher levels of resistant starch and improved in vitro protein digestibility. The estimated glycemic index of the flakes ranges from 52 to 54, thus showing low estimated glycemic index (E-GI) of flakes. Slowly digestible starch and Exp-GI reveal a positive correlation among themselves. Results from the present study showed that highly acceptable flakes with commercialization properties can be successfully formulated using extrusion processing.