Asian Journal of Food Research and Nutrition

This paper aims to evaluate the antioxidant activity and micronutrient content of extruded snacks from blends of whole wheat flour (WWF) and chicken egg. The WWF was mixed separately in different proportions either with the raw whole egg, egg yolk or egg albumen. A twin-screw extruder was used for the extrusion of the samples. The extrusion parameters were constant for all the samples at a screw speed of 700 rpm, feed rate of 53.6 – 78.9 kg/h (50 – 60 %) driven by a 6 – 9.7 kW motor, 20.8 – 24.1 AMP, 50 – 55 % Torque, temperature of 139 – 153 ^oC and 20 % feed moisture content. Each run lasted 14.22 – 15.02 minutes. A spaghetti die of 1.8 mm (2 rings) with a 40 – 60 % cutter was used in each run. After production, the samples were evaluated for antioxidant property (DPPH) and micronutrients content (Vitamins A, D and E, minerals: phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, copper, iron, manganese and zinc) using standard methods. Data analysis was carried out using one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that samples were rich in antioxidants (15.8187 - 18.4346 % inhibition.) All samples containing higher (20 %) of the egg substitutes (R3, R5 and R7) had each mineral higher than the corresponding products containing lower quantity (15 %) of the egg substitute (R2, R4 and R6) respectively. Among the extruded samples, those containing egg yolk had higher vitamins A, E and D because egg yolk contains more of these vitamins. All samples contained low quantities of vitamin A, E and minerals which were significantly (p<0.05) lower than the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) while all the samples met the RDA for vitamin D which is 15 μg (0.015 mg/ 100 g) for those between 1-70 years of age except sample R1 containing 100 % WWF.