Evaluation of the Physicochemical, Nutritional and Sensory Quality of Chicken Meat Biscuits Enriched with Foxtail Millet as Functional Food
Jophil Thomas *
Department of Livestock Products Technology, CVAS, Mannuthy, Thrissur-680 651, India.
A. Irshad
Department of Livestock Products Technology, CVAS, Mannuthy, Thrissur-680 651, India.
T. Sathu
Department of Livestock Products Technology, CVAS, Mannuthy, Thrissur-680 651, India.
V. N. Vasudevan
Department of Livestock Products Technology, CVAS, Mannuthy, Thrissur-680 651, India.
S. Harikrishnan
University Poultry and Duck Farm, CVAS, Mannuthy, Thrissur-680 651, India.
Kavitha Rajagopal
Department of Livestock Products Technology, CVAS, Pookode, Wayanad-673 576, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Chicken meat provides essential proteins and minerals, while foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is rich in dietary fibre, amino acids and bioactive compounds beneficial to health. This research investigated the integration of foxtail millet flour as a substitute for refined wheat flour (RWF) in chicken meat biscuits, aiming to elevate their nutritional value and functional attributes. The study assessed the impact of substituting RWF with foxtail millet flour at 20% (F1), 30% (F2) and 40% (F3) levels on the physicochemical, proximate and sensory attributes of the biscuits. The control, F1, F2 and F3 had cooking yields of 82.63%, 86.81%, 87.03% and 91.81%, respectively. The findings showed that the 30% substitution level (F2) produced the most balanced product. It improved the protein content (30.27%), ether extract (25.45%) and ash content (1.94%), while still maintaining good sensory acceptability. The pH and water activity of the control and F2 were 6.28 and 6.10 and 0.557 and 0.480, respectively. The inclusion of foxtail millet significantly reduced pH and water activity. Overall, foxtail millet incorporation at 30% was identified as the ideal level, enhancing the nutritional profile of chicken meat biscuits without compromising their sensory characteristics.
Keywords: Foxtail millet, functional food, meat based snacks, proximate composition, water activity