Fucus vesiculosus is a brown seaweed rich in iodine, fucoxanthin, and phlorotannins, all known to be bioactive compounds associated with health-promoting events. The enrichment of a staple food such as pasta with seaweed flour, could convey health benefits without changing eating habits. In this work, F. vesiculosus flour (FVF) was incorporated into durum wheat pasta at 1, 5.5, and 10% gradient levels. The pasta enriched with FVF needed additional water during dough formation and required more cooking time, resulting in higher weight gain but also increased cooking loss (observed with 5.5 and 10%). The fracturability of raw pasta decreased for all the FVF pasta, though the cooked firmness and hardness were only affected with the inclusion of 10% FVF. The substitution of wheat semolina with FVF at a 10% level caused an increase in the pasta’s fiber content, which resulted in a more discontinuous protein–matrix structure, as observed at the microscopic level. Untrained consumers were very positive about the overall sensory traits of the pasta with low supplementation levels (1 and 5.5%). About 72% of panelists selected the 1% FVF pasta as their favorite sample. The utilization of FVF in pasta should be targeted at low inclusion levels to cope with the expected texture quality and prevent the impairment of the sensory traits.

Brown macroalgae, particularly those from Fucus genus, are a rich and balanced source of bioactive nutrients and phytochemicals, such as dietary fibres (fucoidans, laminarins, and/or alginates), phlorotannins, and fucoxanthin, and some minerals, such as iodine, which have been demonstrated to possess numerous health-promoting properties. In fact, aqueous extracts of Fucus vesiculosus have been used as food supplements due to its rich content in bioactive compounds, though no study has been published on the optimization of this operation. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of different extraction temperatures (25 °C, 50 °C, 75 °C, 100 °C, and 120 °C) and times (5 min, 1 h, 2 h, and 4 h) on the recovery of those bioactive compounds. The temperature was observed to positively influence the extraction of crude mass and of fucose polysaccharides only at 75 °C and above, and of iodine extraction at 50 °C and above. At these temperatures, time also showed to increase yields. Yields of crude extract, fucose, and iodine were successfully mathematically modelled with a power law, and its maximum yields were obtained at the highest temperature studied (120 °C) and longest extraction time (4 h). Iodine yield at these conditions provided extracts with relevant content to contribute to the recommended daily ingestion. Phlorotannins were significantly recovered at 120 °C though evidence of degradation was observed during time.

The enrichment of semolina pasta with nutritionally rich ingredients has been targeted as a health strategy in recent years. In this work, the storage stability of seaweed-enriched pasta was assessed at different combinations of temperature and relative humidity. After six months of storage, pasta samples did not present variations in their sensory properties. The enrichment of durum wheat pasta with 1% of macroalgae Fucus vesiculosus and Ulva rigida flours, or flours of its extracts, was found to be adequate without influencing or modifying the sensory characteristics of pasta samples during the storage period. Water activity was shown to be the main criteria influencing the quality parameters of pasta during shelf life. A higher water activity during storage will lead to higher cooking losses and a lower firmness of cooked pasta, which will damage pasta quality over time.