Abstract
This study evaluated the bioactive, nutritional and sensory attributes of pasta developed from
composite flours of wheat and germinated brown rice (GBR). Pasta was prepared using
wheat-GBR flour blends at 70:30 and 50:50 ratios, with GBR germinated for 12, 24 and 36
hours and 100% wheat pasta as the control sample. Analyses included total phenolic content
(TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), proximate
composition, vitamins, minerals and sensory attributes using standard AOAC and
spectrophotometric methods. Results for the bioactive compounds such as TPC (254.58-
338.50 mg/GAE/100 g), TFC (233.56-275.46 mg/QUE/100 g) and GABA (2.38-4.27 mg/100
g), increased significantly (p < 0.05) with germination time. Results of the proximate analysis
showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in moisture content (4.06% -5.86%), ash (1.26% -
1.8%), fat (2.21% -3.30%), protein (11.26%-13.51%), dietary fibre (5.65%- 8.77%) and total
carbohydrate (67.67%-73.07%) with longer germination and higher GBR inclusion.Results
for the vitamins such as B1 (0.5-0.84 mg/100 g), B2 (0.30- 0.56 mg/100 g), B3 (5.29-8.02
mg/100 g), B6 (0.77-1.28 mg/100 g), B9(0.99- 3.14 mg/100 g and E (1.70-2.16 mg/100 g),
showed that vitamins B1- B9 and E levels improved across germinated samples, particularly
at 36 hours. Mineral concentrations composition including calcium (25.67-39.65 mg/100 g),
iron (3.07-4.25 mg/100 g), zinc (1.85-2.60 mg/100 g), magnesium (27.62-53.99 mg/100 g),
phosphorus (22.11-70.15 mg/100 g) and selenium (4.03-9.17 mg/100 g), were also elevated.
The 36 h 50:50 W-GBR sample consistently showed the highest nutritional and functional
value. While the 100% wheat pasta was most preferred, the 36 h 50:50 blend, maintained
acceptable sensory scores.