This study investigated the potential of decolourised Moringa oleifera leaf powder (D-MOLP) in cookies to meet consumer demand for healthier food options, addressing the issue of low acceptability due to its green colour. D-MOLP and its non-decolourised counterpart (ND-MOLP) were incorporated into wheat flour to produce cookies. The results showed that neither decolourisation nor addition level (2.5 or 7.5%) significantly affected water activity or flour functionality, though slight differences in cookie colour were observed. The Moringa-enriched cookies exhibited an improved spread ratio as well as higher protein, phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and in vitro protein digestibility compared to control cookies. The detected phenolic acids included chlorogenic, ferulic, and fumaric acids, with the D-MOLP cookies showing superior nutritional properties, likely due to nutrient concentration and reduced antinutrients. Notably, glutamic acid was the major amino acid in all the cookies, but only lysine significantly increased across the cookie types. This suggests D-MOLP could be a promising alternative for food enrichment. Future research should address the consumer acceptability, volatile components, and shelf-life of D-MOLP-enriched cookies.

Unlocking the potential of legumes through short‐term germination offers an innovative approach to improving the functionality of the resultant flour. This review examines the multifaceted benefits of short‐term germinated legume flour, emphasizing the enzymatic activities that breakdown complex legume compounds into simpler forms and reduce anti‐nutritional factors. This process improves digestibility, nutrient bioavailability, and health‐promoting properties. Furthermore, short‐term germination enhances the techno‐functional properties of legume flours without compromising their quality, avoiding excessive starch and protein degradation associated with prolonged germination. This review also explores the applications of short‐term germinated legume flours in developing nutritious and healthy food products tailored to diverse dietary needs. Subsequent integration of these short‐term germinated flours into food products provides a route for the development of cost‐effective, nutritious, and sustainable options that can address malnutrition and enhance overall well‐being.

Metabolite profiling is an analytical technique used to assess metabolites in complex biological samples. This technique allows for the identification of both targeted and untargeted metabolites. In this study, the effect of traditional (fermentation and malting) and novel processing (ultrasonication) on the metabolites of finger millet (FM) and Bambara groundnut (BGN) flour was investigated using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Various metabolite classes, including amino acids, alcohol, aldehyde, organic acid, ester, fatty acids, glycoside, and sugar, were identified in FM and BGN flours. The adopted processing techniques impacted metabolite composition, as evidenced by substantial variations in volatile compound levels and metabolite composition among the FM and BGN samples before and after traditional and novel processing. Important health‐promoting compounds, such as oleic acid, linoelaidic acid, and linoleic acid, were identified at their highest levels in fermented FM and BGN flours. The results obtained from this study offer an important context for monitoring and regulating the metabolite composition of FM and BGN flours under traditional and novel processing. Practical Application: Fermentation, malting, and ultrasonication induced desirable changes in some health‐promoting compounds of finger millet and Bambara groundnut flours. The food and pharmaceutical industries could benefit from these traditional‐ and novel‐modified flours as they could be used as improved food sources with health benefits.

This study investigated the impact of bioprocessing techniques (germination, solid‐state fermentation, the combination of germination, and solid‐state fermentation) on the physicochemical properties, anti‐nutritional and bioactive constituents, in vitro digestibility, and techno‐functional properties of whole wheat grains were investigated. Bioprocessed whole wheat flour (WWF) samples and the raw flour (control) were prepared using standard procedures. Proximate, anti‐nutritional, mineral and amino acid (AA) compositions, protein digestibility, antioxidant activities, starch characteristics, and techno‐functional properties were studied using standard methods. The bioprocessing methods increased ( p ≤ 0.05) the protein (13.37–16.84 g/100 g), total dietary fiber, mineral constituents, resistant starch (7.19–9.87 g/100 g), slowly digestible starch, phenolic content, antioxidant activities (ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity), most AAs, and protein digestibility. Also observed were decreases ( p ≤ 0.05) in rapidly digestible starch, phytic acid, tannin, and trypsin inhibitor activity. The adopted bioprocessing techniques modified the thermal, functional, color, and pasting properties of the WWF and resulted in molecular interactions in some functional groups, as revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, compared to the raw flour. The combination of germination and fermentation improved the physicochemical (titratable acidity = 4.93%), protein (16.84/100 g) and starch digestibility (resistant starch = 9.87%), antioxidant (FRAP = 78.90 mg/GAE/100 g), and mineral contents (calcium = 195.28 mg/100 g), modified the pasting (peak viscosity = 90.34 RVU), thermal (peak temperature = 64.82°C), and color properties of WWF with reduced anti‐nutritional factors. The combination of these processing techniques could serve as a natural and low‐cost technique for the modification of whole wheat functionality and subsequently as an improved functional ingredient during food product development.