Influence of Buckwheat Addition on Physical Properties, Texture and Sensory Characteristics of Extruded Corn Snacks

Abstract

Corn (maize), rice or buckwheat products play an important role in the nutrition of people with gluten intolerance (celiac disease), who cannot consume bakery, pasta or snack products made from commonly used raw materials. Those diseases have been connected with life-long intolerance to a gliadin fraction of wheat and also to other prolamines: rye (secalin), barley (hordein) and possibly oats (avenin) [Counts & Sierpina, 2006; Wronkowska et al., 2008]. Specific physicochemical properties of raw materials of corn and buckwheat, such as high starch content, proteins with a low content of α-gliadin fraction, dietary lipids, no gluten, hypoallergenic, many valuable compounds (flavonoids, rutin), trace elements, dietary fibre and delicate flavour, make them very desirable in the production of a new generation of products and convenience foods intended for specific audiences [Kreft et al., 2006; Wronkowska et al., 2008]. Protein content in buckwheat flour has been reported in the range from 8.5 to 18.9%, depending on the origin and variety [Krkoskova & Mrazova, 2005]. Buckwheat protein is gluten-free, which may increase the assortment of products for consumers suffering from celiac disease [Moroni et al., 2011] and have a high biological value due to the well-balanced amino-acid composition, although their digestibility is relatively low [Wronkowska & Soral-Śmietana, 2008]. The only method of therapy is a gluten-free diet based