Evaluation of the quality characteristics of biscuits processed from high-quality wheat flour fortified with pure extracts of beta-glucan from barley and oats

Abstract

This research was carried out at the laboratories of Food Sciences Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University, with the aim of evaluating the quality characteristics of biscuits prepared from high-quality wheat flour fortified with different levels of pure extracts of beta-glucan by hot water method from barley and oats. Biscuit samples enriched with both types of pure extracts of beta-glucan from barley and oats showed close chemical, physical, processing and sensory properties at each addition level. The results of the chemical analysis of the biscuit samples showed significant differences at the different ratios addition of beta-glucan, where moisture content, ash content and fiber content increased, and the protein content and carbohydrates decreased. On the other hand, significant differences were observed in the processing properties of the prepared biscuit samples at each ratio of each pure extracts type of the beta-glucan, while no significant differences appeared between the two types of extracts. Thickness of the biscuits increased, while diameter, spread ratio and hardness decreased with the increase in the ratio of added beta-glucan extracts. Therefore, it could be concluded that the addition of the two types of beta-glucan extracts reduced the quality of the resulting biscuits. Furthermore, the addition of beta-glucan extracts resulted in a slightly darker colour of the biscuits, changing the color of the biscuits to a dark brown from a creamy yellow with increasing in the level of added extracts. As for the sensory properties, the process of adding the two types of pure extracts in different proportions did not lead to significant changes in the sensory properties of the biscuits. Consequently, this study proved that the process of extracting beta-glucan, whether from barley or oats, and adding it in the form of pure extracts to wheat flour for the preparation of biscuits would increase the nutritional value of the product without negatively affecting its sensory properties.