The aim was to develop nutritious drinks using date nectar with the two most popular Saudi date cultivars (Khalas and Sukkari) and spirulina at different substitution rates. The date puree was prepared with different concentrations of pectin enzymes. The approximate composition, microbiological quality, sugars, vitamins, and minerals of date puree and spirulina, as well as the contaminants, physical properties, fatty acids, and phytopigments of spirulina were evaluated. Chemical composition and sensory properties of the developed date drinks were also assessed. The results showed that spirulina is safe, free from contaminants and heavy metals, and appeared to contain appreciable amounts of essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and phytopigments. The microbiological loads of date puree and spirulina were very low, and there were no pathogenic microbes were found. Spirulina contained higher amounts of total solids, ash, protein, minerals, fiber, fat, and vitamins, than date puree, indicating its suitability as a rich source of nutrients for food fortification. In both date types, treatment of puree with 400 ppm enzyme yielded nectar with higher scores in all sensory attributes, indicating that this is a suitable concentration to yield acceptable juice amounts. The substitution of date nectar with 10% spirulina gave the highest scores for sensory attributes; consequently, this concentration was used for the formulation of functional nectar from date nectar and spirulina. Incorporation of 10% spirulina in date nectars showed a significant increase in the contents of total solids, protein, essential amino acids, ash, fat, sugars, carotenoids, and chlorophyll in the date nectars, thereby improving its nutritional and health properties.

This research investigated the chemical analysis and sensory evaluation of low-calorie formulated pumpkin jams after storage for six months and the effects of the consumption of low-calorie jams on diabetic rats. Pumpkin jam with sucrose, fructose, stevia, and aspartame sweeteners and soybean was prepared and stored at 10°C for six months. Rats were divided into group 1 (negative control), group 2 (positive diabetic groups), and groups 3, 4, and 5 (diabetic groups treated with 10% sucrose, fructose, and stevia soybean jam, respectively). The results indicated that the contents of protein, fat, ash, and fibre were increased in the low-calorie formulated pumpkin jams. The highest sensory scores were recorded for sucrose and fructose soybean jams and then for stevia soybean jam, while the aspartame soybean jam showed significantly lower scores after storage for 3 and 6 months. Rat groups 4 and 5 showed significant decreases in the glucose level, and liver function enzymes activity showed significant increases in insulin and glycogen levels compared to group 2. Conclusion. Low-calorie pumpkin jams with soybean can be stored for 3 months at 10°C without any change. Stevia pumpkin jam with soybean has antidiabetic effects.

Background. Biscuits are consumed by all of society in the world. Incorporation of different ratios of quinoa flour into wheat flour for the production of biscuits is needed for the production of functional foods. Objective. This study aimed to evaluate the incorporation of 12.5 or 25 quinoa flour into biscuit production, evaluate rheological and sensory characteristics, and investigate the effect of the consumption of 20 cooked biscuits on diabetic rats. Design. The gross chemical composition, total carotenoids, phenolic and flavonoids of wheat flour and quinoa flour, and the rheological properties of the control, 12.5 quinoa, and 25 quinoa biscuit dough were determined. The effects of consumption of 12.5 quinoa and 25 quinoa biscuits on diabetic rats were investigated. Results. Quinoa flour had significantly higher levels of the gross chemical composition except for carbohydrate and increased phenolic compound and flavonoids content than those in wheat flour. Increasing the amount of quinoa flour in the biscuits could increase the farinograph and extensograph values of the dough. Biological results showed that the highest improvement in nutritional values appeared in the diabetic rat group, which consumed 25 quinoa biscuit for 60 days. The consumption of 12.5 quinoa biscuit and 25 quinoa biscuit showed a decline in blood glycosylated hemoglobin and glucose and an elevation in insulin levels compared with the positive control diabetic rat group. Discussion and Conclusion. It is encouraging to replace wheat flour with quinoa flour in biscuit manufacturing owing to positive effects on both the technological properties and sensory evaluation of biscuits. The increase of quinoa flour up to 25 had favorable nutritional values and hypoglycemic effects.

Sunflower seeds are highly popular in food mixes, especially biscuits and are thought to be nutritionally beneficial. These seeds are rich in healthy fats, useful plant compounds and many vitamins and minerals. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of the incorporation of irradiated sunflower flour on the physico-chemical and sensory properties of biscuits during the storage period. The physical and chemical properties of wheat flour with 72% extraction, nonirradiated sunflower flour and sunflower flour irradiated with 5 kGy and 10 kGy were estimated. Additionally, the physical, chemical and sensory properties of extracted oils from the biscuits were also evaluated during storage periods of two and four months. The refractive index, peroxide value and iodine value decreased as the storage period increased, while acids such as oleic acid and the acid value increased slowly and gradually. Additionally, the fatty acids of the oils extracted from biscuits during storage were high in unsaturated fatty acids at the beginning of storage. After two and four months of storage, an increase in saturated fatty acids and a decrease in unsaturated fatty acids was observed. The results showed that the overall acceptability of sunflower flour biscuits irradiated at a dose of 10 kGy was highest, while the control biscuits had the lowest acceptability after 4 months of storage. It was concluded that the substitution of up to 10% of wheat flour with nonirradiated or irradiated sunflower flour can be a good method for food product development due to the ability of sunflower flour to improve the nutritional value and overall acceptability of biscuits.