Corncob powder and transglutaminase addition in pasta: Effects on proximate composition, physical and cooking properties, and overall acceptability of the product

Background and Objectives Dietary fiber is important to human health and fiber-rich foods are highly desired. Pasta is a common staple and widely consumed in the world. However, the main material to produce conventional pasta is durum wheat semolina which is poor in fiber. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of adding different levels of corncob powder in the pasta formulation on the proximate composition, physical and cooking properties, and overall acceptability of the product. In addition, this study also evaluated the effect of transglutaminase treatment condition including enzyme doses and incubation times on the physical and cooking properties as well as sensory acceptance of corncob-incorporated pasta. Findings Corncob powder at 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% (w/w) of durum wheat semolina was added to make corncob-incorporated pasta. The fiber content and antioxidant activities of pasta increased with the increase of corncob addition level. At 20% addition level, the fiber and total phenolic content of the corncob-incorporated pasta increased by two times and four times, respectively, compared to those of the control pasta. However, the cooking loss was increased while optimal cooking time, elongation rate, tensile strength and overall acceptability were decreased with the increase of corncob addition level. Transglutaminase (TG) treatment of the blended dough from 90% semolina and 10% corncob powder was successfully applied to improve the cooking loss, elongation rate, tensile strength as well as the overall acceptability of the incorporated pasta. At the TG dose of 0.75 U/g protein and incubation time of 10 min, the cooking and physical quality as well as overall acceptability of corncob-incorporated pasta were comparable to those of the control pasta. Conclusion The incorporation of corncob powder increased the fiber content and antioxidant activities of pasta but negatively affected the cooking and physical properties as well as the overall acceptability. These negative effects of corncob powder incorporation can be overcome by treatment of the blended dough with TG at appropriate dose and incubation time. Significance and Novelty Corncob, an abundant agriculture by-product, can be utilized to enhance fiber content and antioxidant activities of pasta. A combination of corncob and TG addition can be used to produce fiber-rich pasta with acceptable cooking and physical quality as well as overall acceptability.