Nutritional and Sensory Evaluation of Noodles Enriched with Soybean and Carrot Flour

Abstract

This study evaluated the nutritional and sensory properties of noodles produced from blends of wheat, soybean, and carrot flours in varying proportions. The proximate, mineral, and vitamin compositions of the noodles were analysed, along with a sensory evaluation to assess consumer acceptability. The results indicated significant nutritional enhancements with the inclusion of soybean and carrot flours. Notably, protein content ranged from 9.95% in the control sample (100% wheat flour) to 30.90% in the sample 60:35:5 (containing 35% soybean flour and 5% carrot flour), representing a significant increase (p < 0.05). Fat content also increased from 2.08% to 4.04%, and ash content from 2.48% to 3.85%, while carbohydrate content decreased from 75.12% to 54.19% as the proportion of soybean flours increased. Mineral analysis (mg/100 g) showed significant differences in calcium and iron contents, calcium ranged from 97.02 to 98.00 and iron from 1.89 to 2.93. Vitamin (mg/100 g) content, (beta-carotene) (5.46 - 6.00) vitamin C (1.22 - 2.03), vitamin E (1.00-1.03) vitamin B1 (0.25-0.31), vitamin B6 (1.00-1.04), increased with increasing substitution of soybean and carrot flour. Sensory evaluation revealed that the control sample had the highest scores for appearance (7.63), taste (7.66) and overall acceptability (7.58), while samples with higher soybean flour received lower scores, indicating a potential trade-off between nutritional enhancement and sensory quality. The proportion of carrot flour was the same across all samples except the control. All the samples were, however, generally acceptable. Therefore, incorporating soybean and carrot flour into wheat flour can significantly improve the nutritional profile of noodles, particularly protein, fat, mineral and vitamin content. However, the sensory analysis suggests that consumer acceptability may decrease with higher levels of these flours, highlighting the need for balanced formulations that consider both nutrition and taste.