Opuntia cladodes as functional ingredient in durum wheat bread: rheological, sensory, and chemical characterization

• Main Authors: F. Sciacca, M. Palumbo, A. Pagliaro, V. Di Stefano, S. Scandurra, N. Virzì, M. G. Melilli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2021-01-01
• Series: CyTA - Journal of Food
• Subjects: durum wheat bread; cladodes; prickly pear; sensory characteristics; antioxidants
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19476337.2020.1862918

Cladodes are considered by-products of Opuntia ficus-indica cultivation. Their addition as source of antioxidants to durum wheat breads could have effects on preventing cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and inflammation. The inclusion of 0-5-10-15% cladodes, harvested in three different locations, on quality and antioxidant properties of fortified durum wheat breads has been evaluated. The enrichment with 10% of cladodes resulted in an increase in the content of total phenolics (14.8 vs 2.7 mg GAE/100 g of control bread), a decrease of IC50 (3.28 vs 49.7 mg/ml of control bread), good rheological characteristics of loaves and largely positive evaluation by panel test. Fortification with 15% of cladodes caused an increase in the resistance to the mixture with a reduction of dough extensibility. In addition, the evaluation of different populations of Opuntia gave information about the valorization of the crop and could be a strategy to increase bioactive compounds in durum wheat breads.