Influence of Indian Brown Seaweed (Sargassum marginatum) as an Ingredient on Quality, Biofunctional, and Microstructure Characteristics of Pasta

This study aimed to develop pasta with Indian brown seaweed (Sargassum marginatum) as an ingredient
to improve the biofunctional and nutritional qualities. Different levels of seaweed (1.0%, 2.5%, and 5.0%;
w/w) were substituted to obtain seaweed-incorporated pasta and pasta without seaweed was used as
control. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (%) of seaweed-incorporated
pasta was higher in cooked form as compared to uncooked (raw) pasta. Reducing power of seaweed
incorporated pasta increased with the increased levels of seaweed. However, metal-chelating activity was
highest (5.88%) in pasta with 2.5% seaweed. With regards to product quality, weight of uncooked pasta
(25 g) increased to between 70 and 77 g on cooking, depending on the type of pasta. Cooking loss decreased
in samples having seaweed up to 2.5% as compared to control. Pasta with 2.5% seaweed had rupture free
nonsticky strands. Microstructure studies revealed that the incorporation of seaweed up to 2.5% enhances
gluten network of pasta.