Effect of traditional and novel processing technologies on the thermo-pasting, microstructural, nutritional, and antioxidant properties of finger millet and Bambara groundnut flours

This study examined the impact of traditional (fermentation and malting) and novel (ultrasonication) processing technologies on the thermo-pasting, microstructural, nutritional, and antioxidant properties of finger millet (FM) and Bambara groundnut (BGN) flours. Fermentation, malting, and ultrasonication enhanced the water/oil absorption capacity (WAC/OAC) of FM, while in the BGN samples, only malting decreased the WAC and OAC. An increase in protein and fibre content was observed in all processed samples. The ash content increased in fermented/malted FM flour (FFM/MFM) and fermented BGN flour (FBGN), while a decrease was observed in ultrasonicated FM/BGN flour (UFM/UBGN) and malted BGN flour (MBGN). In terms of antioxidant activity, an increase in the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) was observed in FFM (22.69 mol TE/g), FBGN (37.40 mol TE/g), and UBGN (49.90 mol TE/g) compared to their respective control samples. Considering these findings, future studies should focus more on developing functional foods such as weaning foods, jelly foods, and confectionaries from FFM and FBGN.