Development of Green Seaweed (Ulva fasciata) Incorporated String Hoppers as a Functional Food

Abstract

Seaweeds are rich sources of nutrients that contain high levels of proteins, fiber, and bioactive compounds. Due to the unawareness of seaweed consumption, they are still an underutilized food resource in Sri Lanka. The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional composition of locally available green seaweed (Ulva fasciata) and its potential to be used as a functional food ingredient to improve the nutritional properties of string hoppers. In this study, string hoppers were prepared by substituting rice flour with 0%, 2.5%, 5%, and 10% (w/w) Ulva fasciata powder. A sensory evaluation was carried out to select the best-accepted combination; 2.5% (w/w) Ulva fasciata incorporated string hoppers were scored as the best according to the sensory evaluation. Therefore, proximate and phytochemical studies were performed for the 2.5% (w/w) Ulva fasciata added string hoppers and a control sample. The proximate analysis revealed that the 2.5% (w/w) Ulva fasciata powder incorporated string hoppers had a high percentage of total ash (1.73 ± 0.11%), crude protein (9.85 ± 0.17%), soluble protein (2.62 ± 0.24%), and total fiber (21.46 ± 0.97%) as well as a reduced amount of total carbohydrate (46.37 ± 0.31%) and crude lipid content (0.49 ± 0.06%). The total phenolic and total flavonoid content detected from the 2.5% (w/w) Ulva fasciata incorporated string hoppers were 0.68 ± 0.10 μg GAE/ mgml^-1 and 0.12 ± 0.02 μg QE/ mgml^-1, respectively. Collectively, this study suggested that Ulva fasciata is a potential source of protein and fiber to improve the nutritional value of foods.