Enhancing nixtamalized maize tortillas with breadfruit flour: Effects on physical, sensory and in vitro starch digestibility properties

abstract

Breadfruit flour (BF) was evaluated for its quality-improving potential in nixtamalized maize flour (NMF) tortilla formulations. Substitution levels of 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60% BF were studied to replace NMF in the production of maize tortillas. Compared with NMF, BF contained more total dietary fiber (24.5 vs 11.3 g/100 g), less amylose (18.1 vs 27.8 g/100 g of starch), and markedly less damaged starch (3.6 vs 37.7 g/100 g). Increasing BF incorporation impacted dough behavior, as shown by Mixolab analysis, with up to 10% higher peak viscosities and a 4 °C rise in pasting temperature for 60% replacement (BF-60) compared to control, which is consistent with the increase in the gelatinization temperatures established from calorimetry. The addition of BF did not alter moisture or shape of tortillas but produced darker and harder tortillas, with hardness increasing with addition level of BF in both fresh and stored samples. BF-60 tortillas showed the best nutritional improvement, with 70% increase in dietary fiber content and slower in vitro starch digestibility compared to control formulation. This was reflected in a significant change in the starch fractions: the rapidly digestible starch was reduced from 64.9 to 56.8 g/100 g, while the slowly digestible starch increased from 4.4 to 11.8 g/100 g. Despite a noticeable herbaceous flavor associated with BF for formulations with more than 30% BF, all formulations received acceptable sensory scores by a consumer sensory panel (>5/9). The experimental findings support the suitability of BF as a functional ingredient to enhance the nutritional quality of NMF tortillas while maintaining adequate consumer acceptance levels. © © 2025. Published by Elsevier B.V.