RESUMEN
Dysphagia is a significant health concern especially amongst the old age population. It is an ailment brought on by the weakening of the swallowing muscles. To reduce the risk of choking in dysphagia patients, the food is usually diluted to suit their swallowing ability. But dilution results in reducing the nutritional density of the foods thus causing undernutrition and malnutrition in patients. In this study, functional liquid diets were formulated under International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) levels 0-2. The developed diets were analysed for their proximate composition, colour, antioxidant and sensory properties. Antioxidant activities were determined using 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS+), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and total phenolic content (TPC) methods. The highest ABTS+ value was observed in pumpkin puree (level-2) i.e. 98.59%. Black carrot juice (level-1) showed the highest DPPH free radical scavenging activity and FRAP value viz. 88.43% and 689.33 µM TE/g, respectively. Electromyography (EMG) is an upcoming technique of food texture evaluation which provides real-time information about food oral processing. In this study, an EMG was conducted to measure the myoelectrical activity of human suprahyoid and masseter muscles by placing electrodes on the skin's surface during the oral processing of liquid. The EMG parameters correlated significantly with viscosity, ease of swallowing and IDDSI levels of the formulated diets. Hence EMG can be used as a tool for design and development of textured-modified diets for dysphagia patients. The sensory scores of formulated diets in this study were high indicating that these liquid diets may be incorporated into the diet plans of dysphagia patients.
RESUMEN
Wheat is consumed worldwide because of its high nutritional content and convenience to form different products. Whole wheat is an important source of dietary fiber and its consumption is known to lower the risk of colon cancer, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Germination of wheat results in better availability of nutrients and offers many health benefits. In this study, germinated wheat flour (GWF) was prepared and analyzed for its proximate composition, functional properties, antioxidant activity and microbial count along with whole wheat flour (WWF). The GWF was having 9.2% higher protein content than that of WWF. No significant change was observed in the ash, fat and crude fiber content after germination. GWF showed higher oil absorption capacity and water solubility index. Falling number of GWF was found to be lower. The total phenolic content increased more than two folds after germination and antioxidant activity increased from an initial of 12.35% in WWF to 33.28% in GWF. The microbial counts of GWF were within acceptable range for processing. Breads were prepared by replacing WWF with GWF at 0-100% levels and were analyzed for their proximate composition and acceptance on Hedonic Scale. The 100% GWF bread was having 8.7% higher protein content than 100% WWF bread. The overall acceptability score for all breads were high (> 7.3) whereas the bread prepared with 50% GWF got the highest overall acceptability score of 8.4. The results of this study indicate that bread with improved nutrition and acceptable quality can be prepared from GWF.
