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Fermentation Improves Mineral Bioavailability of Pumpkin Seed Flour

Neeta Kumari, Sangeeta C. Sindhu, Varsha Rani, Anju Kumari and Varsha Kumari
Department of Foods and Nutrition, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : chahalsangeeta@hau.ac.in; Mobile : 70158 88934)
(Received : May 11, 2021; Accepted : July 05, 2021)

ABSTRACT

Present investigation evaluated the effect of processing on protein digestibility and mineral bioavailability
of pumpkin seed flour. Pumpkin seeds were made into flour and subjected to natural and controlled single culture (L. acidophilus and L. rhamnosus) fermentations. All fermentations brought significant decrease in phytic acid (34.12 to 48.31%) and polyphenol (37.66 to 39.74%) content. The unprocessed pumpkin seed flour contained 145.71, 8.25, 15.60, 21.42, 948.23 and 65.28 mg/100 g of total calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium and phosphorus, respectively. The process of fermentation significantly improved HCl extractability of all analyzed minerals. Highest change in per cent extractability was observed for phosphorus wherein it increased from 30.22% (unprocessed flour) to 71.36% after L. acidophilus fermentation.
Key words : : Pumpkin seed flour fermentation, phytic acid, polyphenols, mineral bioavailability, L. acidophilus, L. rhamnosus