Optimization of Formulation for Production of Nutrient Enhanced Noodles Containing Sorghum, Cowpea and Wheat

The demand and consumption of noodles has increased globally and is attributable to the rising demand for affordable, convenient and shelf stable foods. Nevertheless, most noodles available on the market are low in nutritional value, consisting mainly of starch. This study aimed to develop an optimal formulation for production of nutrient enhanced noodles with sorghum and cowpea as ingredients. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimal formulation for production of noodles. Independent variables included content of wheat flour, sorghum and cowpea whereas the response variables included protein content and acid detergent fiber. The relationship between the independent and response variables followed a linear model (for acid detergent fiber) and reduced cubic model (for protein content), with respective R2 values of 0.5593 and 0.7111. Both models had an insignificant lack of fit (P > 0.05). With the use of numerical optimization, the optimal formulation was found to comprise 55% wheat, 36 sorghum% and 9% cowpea flour. Noodles produced using this optimal formulation contained 16.01% protein and 2.08% acid detergent fiber with a desirability function of 0.811. On validation of results, there was no significant difference (P <0.05) between the predicted and observed values. The nutrient enriched noodles had significantly higher protein, crude fiber and crude fat in comparison to wheat-only noodles. The developed noodles were found acceptable (overall acceptability of 6.17 on a 9-point hedonic scale). The findings of the study show the potential of using sorghum and cowpea as major ingredients for nutritious noodles.