This paper investigates the nutraceutical (phenolic content and antioxidant activity) and nutritional potential (protein and starch digestibility) of supplementation of durum wheat semolina with 5–20% fish powder (Pseudophycis bachus). In general, all enriched pasta with fish powder showed a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in reducing sugar released during an in vitro digestion, and reductions in standardized area under the curve (AUC) values, compared to control pasta. The potentially bioaccessible fraction of pasta enriched with 20% fish powder (FP) was characterized as having a 177–191% increase in phenolic content and a 145–556% higher antiradical activity. Elevation of these parameters in fortified pasta was accompanied by interaction of wheat starch, protein, and fish powder protein. Supplementation of fish powder also influenced protein digestibility (a reduction from 84.60% for control pasta to 80.80% for pasta with 20% fish powder). Fortification improved the nutraceutical and nutritional potential of the studied pasta with the effects depending on factors including protein-starch-phenolic interactions.
Keywords: Semolina pasta; antioxidant activity; fish powder; fortification; nutrients digestibility.