Bioactives-retained non-glutinous noodles from nixtamalized Dent and Flint maize

Nixtamalization is a well-known pre-treatment technique in the tortilla industry. Nixtamalized maize
(nixtamal) is known for its modified physicochemical as well as nutritional attributes. In the present
study, two types of nixtamalization processes (traditional and ecological) were employed for the development
of whole-grain-maize-based noodles using Dent and Flint maize genotypes. Results showed that
ecological nixtamalization had resulted in better cooking and textural qualities of noodles compared to
the one prepared traditionally. Dent maize noodles from traditional and ecological nixtamalization had
lower retention of phenolics (40 and 64%, respectively) whereas, Flint maize noodles retained 50 and
66% phenolics, respectively. Dent maize noodles had undergone phenolics loss of 5–6% on cooking while
those of Flint maize lost only 2%. Ecological nixtamalization maintained the pH of the cooking liquor
within an acidic-neutral range and yielded noodle with higher retention of phenolics whereas, the traditional
process negatively affected the antioxidant compounds and their properties.