Development and Quality Evaluation of Fiber-Enriched Pasta Incorporating Green Banana Flour and Whole Wheat Flour: Physicochemical, Antioxidant, and Sensory Properties.

This study evaluated the effects of incorporating green banana and whole wheat flour at varying substitution levels on the nutritional, functional, antioxidant, cooking, and sensory properties of formulated novel pasta. Six formulations were developed and compared against a commercial control. Proximate analysis revealed significant enhancements in enriched pasta, with protein increasing from 13.85 g/100 g in the control to 16.12 g/100 g in WCL20%, and dietary fiber more than doubling from 3.9 g/100 g to 10.1-11.2 g/100 g in the developed pasta. Mineral contents also improved substantially, with calcium rising from 172.6 mg/100 g to 292.9 mg/100 g and iron from 2.7 mg/100 g to 17.1 mg/100 g. Antioxidant evaluation confirmed marked increases, with total phenolic content peaking at 27.8 μg gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight in BCL20% and DPPH radical scavenging improving from 13.4% in the control to 95.7% in WCL20%. Cooking characteristics showed slightly higher water uptake and cooking loss in enriched formulations. Texture analysis revealed increased hardness from 11.3 × 10-1 N in control to 13.6 × 10-1 N in BCL20% and stickiness, while sensory evaluation indicated that 10%-15% enrichment levels achieved the highest acceptability scores. Water activity values (0.49-0.55) across all samples were below the microbial safety threshold (< 0.60), suggesting stable shelf life. Therefore, green banana and whole wheat flours significantly improved pasta's nutritional and antioxidant properties, with optimal substitution at 10%-15% to maximize health benefits while maintaining consumer preference.