Crackers biscuit was produced from blends of acha and pigeon pea flours at ratios 100:0 (ACC), 80:20 (APC1), 70:30 (APC2) respectively. The crackers were analysed for physical attributes, chemical composition, amino acid composition, antioxidant and antidiabetes properties as well as sensory attributes. Protein content of snack increased with increase in supplementation with pigeon pea flour and antinutrient component of the formulated snack was low hence may not adversely affect nutrient bioavailability. Glutamic and Aspartic acid are the predominantly abundant amino acids, methionine and lysine contents were also significantly increased as a result of supplementation with pigeon pea flour. The biscuits exhibited good antioxidant properties …show more content…
APC2 possessed low GI of 47.95%. Consequently, all parameters evaluated indicate that APC2 could serve as a functional snack in management of hyperglycemia (diabetes) and prevention of associated degenerative diseases.
Keywords: acha-pigeon pea crackers, nutritional profile, antioxidant properties, antidiabetes properties
1. Introduction
Cereals and legumes in general play an important role in human nutrition. Recent studies have shown that they contain constituents that have demonstrated health benefits for humans such as antioxidant and anti-disease factors (Ragaee et al., 2006; Stratil et al., 2007). Legumes proteins play a vital role in complementing cereals in the production of ready to eat snack. Their use as functional ingredients in food formulations is receiving increased attention (Vaz Patto et al., 2015) and studies have shown that consumption of legumes contribute several physiological and health benefits such as prevention of cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes. Diabetes include a group of metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia associated with elevated blood sugar levels as a result of poor insulin production or response. The number of diabetes cases was 171 million in 2010 and is predicted to rise to 366 million by 2030 (Si et al., 2010). Its increasing worldwide