Cereal food products are an important part of the human diet with wheat being the most commonly consumed cereal in many parts of the world. Extruded snack products are increasing in consumer interest due to their texture and ease of use. However, wheat based foods are rich in starch and are associated with high glycaemic impact products. Although legume materials are generally rich in fibre and protein and may be of high nutritive value, there is a paucity of research regarding their use in extruded snack food products. The aim of this study was to prepare wheat-based extrudates using four different legume flours: lentil, chickpea, green pea, and yellow pea flour. The effects of adding legumes to wheat-based snacks at different levels (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) during extrusion were investigated in terms of protein digestibility. It was observed that fortification of snacks with legumes caused a slight increase in the protein content by 1%-1.5% w/w, and the extrusion technique increased the protein digestibility by 37%-62% w/v. The product developed by extrusion was found to be low in fat and moisture content.
Keywords: extrusion; legumes; protein digestibility; wheat.