SummaryProduction of wheat bran (WB) for human consumption is estimated to be about 90 million tonnes per year. WB is a cheap and abundant source of dietary fibre which has been linked to improved bowel health and possible prevention of some diseases such as colon cancer. It also contains minerals, vitamins and bioactive compounds such as phenolic acids, arabinoxylans, alkylresorcinol and phytosterols. These compounds have been suggested as an aid in prevention of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease. This article discusses WB extraction, its nutritional properties, potential health benefits, effects on quality and sensory properties of some cereal foods, and its application in some baked products as well as in fried cereal snacks, as an additive for oil reduction and fibre enrichment.

With the rapid increase in cardiovascular diseases, health-conscious consumers are increasingly showing more interest in foods that provide health benefits beyond the provision of essential nutrients. Watermelon contains phytochemicals such as lycopene, vitamin C, β-carotene, and Total polyphenolic content that possess anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antioxidant properties. Dietary intake of these products with antioxidants properties is important in maintaining human health and well-being. These reduces incidence of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and some coronary heart diseases, through inhibiting formation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species. The presence of these phytochemicals enhances its potential use as a functional ingredient in food application. This paper aims to characterize the phytochemicals found in watermelon, and emphasis is directed toward the role of natural antioxidants in reducing the risk of chronic diseases to discourage the use of synthetic antioxidants. Moreover, another focus is on seeking the recognition of watermelon as a potential snack and to support its traditional consumption.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of size reduction of wheat bran (WB) on water holding capacity (WHC), water retention capacity (WRC), swelling capacity (SC); rheological and colour properties. Coarse WB exhibited the highest mean values for WHC (6.49 g/g), WRC (5.76 g/g), SC (7.67 g/g) and DHC (4.23 g/g), while these values were significantly reduced in fine WB. Size reduction increased lightness of WB as indicated by high L* values (62.65 to 75.80), Hue angle of 74.63 and whiteness index value of 81.42. Increasing WB additions increased water absorption of dough from 63 to 70.2%, while dough stability decreased from 12.5 min to 6.80 min. As coarse WB addition increased from 1 to 15 g extensibility decreased from 419 BU to 283 BU (highest level of addition). A negative correlation (r 2 = -0.992) was found between farinograph water absorption and all extensograph indices measured; implying that an increase in water absorption of dough led to a significant decrease in extensibility, maximum resistance and energy recorded for the dough. WB can be used as potential additive in foods like bread/ doughnut with the aim of optimizing their quality parameters such as nutritional and textural properties.Keywords: wheat bran; rheology; colour profile; hydration properties; mixing tolerance; particle size.Practical Application: Impact of size reduction of wheat bran on colour and rheological attributes is potentially applicable in development of existing and new cereal products.

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In this study, different concentrations of aqueous extracts (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% w/v) from roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) calyces were incorporated in formulations of soft-serve ice cream as functional additives. The roselleflavored ice cream was evaluated for physico-chemical properties (color, viscosity, pH, total solids, total titratable acidity, meltdown rate, overrun) and descriptive sensory properties. High concentration of roselle extracts had an effect on the colour of ice cream as shown by an increase (0-1.50) in redness (+a*-values) whilst the lightness (L*-values) of the ice cream decreased (80.30-64.20). As the concentration of roselle extracts increased in the formulation, the meltdown rate of the ice cream also increased from 0.74 to 2.33 g/min whilst a gradual decrease in viscosity (238.3 to 242.3 cP) was observed compared to the control (246 cP). The overrun progressively increased (14.01-33.49%) as the concentration of roselle extracts increased. The pH and total soluble solids significantly decreased (6.8-6.3 and 35.5-25.6°Brix, respectively) at higher concentrations of roselle extracts whilst total titratable acidity increased (0.16-1.5 g of malic acid per 100 g). The results of this study suggest that the ice cream sample with 5% roselle extract has a potential as a functional ice cream since it exhibited high overrun, low meltdown, desirable viscosity, high total solids and light color intensity. This ice cream was described by sensory panel as cream white, sweet and milky with vanilla flavor. The ice cream could be acceptable as consumers are familiar with its descriptive sensory properties. ARTICLE HISTORY

Pro-vitamin A-biofortified maize with added amaranth has a potential for use in nutritious and healthy extruded snacks. There are limited studies reporting on processing pro-vitamin A maize with complementary plant foods, which is common with white maize in southern Africa; thus the current study serves as a baseline.

The influence of fine and medium wheat bran (WB) particle sizes on process and quality parameters of a cereal fried dough (magwinya) was investigated. Magwinya is a snack that resembles, but different from doughnut and it is commonly consumed in most Sub-Saharan African countries. The effect of WB, fermentation and frying time was investigated on weight, diameter, volume, colour, hardness, fat, ash, and moisture, contents of magwinya. Further investigation on mineral and fibre contents as well as the consumer acceptance of optimised samples was also carried out. Predictive models were generated from responses with all lack of fit values >0.1, R2 values ≤0.99 and desirability function of 0.82 and 0.78 for fine and medium WB, respectively. Close agreement between experimental and predicted values for fat and ash was found. The linear, quadratic and interaction effects of process variables significantly (p < 0.05) increased ash, hardness, lightness and moisture and reduced volume and fat content of magwinya. incorporation of 15 g WB, dough fermentation time of 71.66 min (fine WB) and 76.43 min (medium WB) and 3 min frying time significantly (p < 0.05) reduced fat content of magwinya by 44.96% and 22.92%, respectively, and increased ash by 50.41% and 54.20%, respectively. Fine WB resulted in the least fat content while medium WB increased the ash and minerals.