A pril 4, 2024
Lotus is widely cultivated in the Asian continent (mainly China) as one of the important economically important crops for its rhizome and seeds. In the last decade, seeds from lotus seeds have emerged as one of the important sources of major nutrients and phytochemical compounds.
Lotus seed possesses many important components that could be processed further in food product formulations and other applications. Exploring new sources as a functional ingredient for value-added food product development claims enhanced nutritional and functional properties of products. Flour and starch are important ingredients in the food industry. To formulate new products, flours and starches with specific characteristics must impart functionally desirable properties. In bakery products, wheat flour is used as the basic raw material. However, research has now shifted to partial or full replacement of wheat flour with other substitutes that are both nutrient-rich and health-benefiting in nature.
Seed flour from Thai lotus cultivars is a good source of carbohydrates and proteins and exhibits better functional properties, including water and oil absorption capacity, swelling power, and solubility than conventional grains and legumes which indicates the potential use of lotus seed flour in bakery and meat products and as functional ingredients. Lotus seed flour from 0% to 40% was used to prepare the bread recipe. It was observed that increasing the concentration of lotus seed flour resulted in decreased gas retention. All bread prepared using lotus seed flour showed reduced loaf volume (306.67–586.67 mL) compared to the control bread (600 mL). Lotus seed flour in wheat flour and observed that partial replacement of wheat flour with 10% lotus seed flour resulted in improved bread quality and consumer acceptance. Due to the rich source of nutrients and sensorial properties, lotus seed flour has been utilized in many products, including moon cake, noodles, juice, and wine. Lotus seed milk serves as vegetarian milk and can be used for making bread, bakery goods, ice cream, and puddings. Concerning healthy alternatives for consumers, the focus has been on creating highly nutritious noodles.
Also lotus seed flour (5%, 10%, and 15%) can be added in wheat flour noodles. Noodles prepared with 5% lotus seed flour are deemed acceptable to consumers due to reduced fat content (0.01%) and increased fiber (0.823%), ash (0.903%), and phenolic contents (0.019 mg GAE/100 mg). Biscuits are among the most desirable bakery goods liked by people of almost every age group. An attempt has been made to incorporate lotus seed flour in cookies to a unique blend of nutrients and a characteristic flavor. Recently it was developed and standardized baked product formulation using multigrain flour and lotus seed to replace refined wheat flour. A 9-point hedonic scale was used for sensory evaluation, and results concluded that incorporating multigrain and lotus seed flour in regular wheat flour increases its quality. Further, it was used different concentrations of lotus seed flour (2.5%–10%) to prepare antioxidant-rich cookies. Therefore, the addition of lotus seed flour resulted in improved phenolic content, fibers, and inorganic residues of cookies. Cooking oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids is good for health.