Biscuits are ready-to-eat foods that are traditionally prepared mainly with wheat flour, fat, and sugar. Recently, biscuits’ technologies have been rapidly developed to improve their nutritional properties. This study aimed to determine the strategies of improving the nutritional quality of biscuits and the potential health benefits associated with them. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted, including articles on biscuits improved by technological processes and raw materials variation. Studies were searched from Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science published between 1997 and 2020, in English and French. The meta-analysis was performed using RStudio software, version 4.0.4 to classify the biscuits. One hundred and seven eligible articles were identified. Rice, pea, potato, sorghum, buckwheat, and flaxseed flours were respectively the most found substitutes to wheat flour. But the meta-analysis shown that the copra and foxtail millet biscuit fortified with amaranth, the wheat biscuits fortified with okra, and rice biscuits fortified with soybeans had a high protein content. These biscuits therefore have a potential to be used as complementary foods. The substitution of sugar and fat by several substitutes lead to a decrease in carbohydrates, fat, and energy value. It has also brought about an increase in other nutrients such as dietary fiber, proteins/amino acids, fatty acids, and phenolic compounds. Among the sugar and fat substitutes, stevia and inulin were respectively the most used. Regarding the use of biscuits in clinical trials, they were mainly used for addressing micronutrient deficiency and for weight loss.

Songré-Ouattara et al ., J. Appl. Biosci. 2017 Impact de l'emballage et de la durée de conservation sur la qualité nutritionnelle et microbiologique des biscuits de sorgho enrichis au moringa et à la spiruline

Lipid (oil and fat) is one of the basic and important components used in the production of cookies. It plays several roles in their composition and a judicious choice of this ingredient makes it possible to have cheap, delicious and very nutritious cookies. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of refined cottonseeds oil (RCO), refined palm oil (RPO) and red (or crude) palm oil (CPO) on sorghum (Sorghum bicolour var. Gampela) cookies. Oils were incorporated at levels of 16%, 20% and 24%. Cookies quality were evaluated based on quantitative sensory profile, sensory acceptability, preference classification and paired-comparison test. The results of sensory profile tests showed that the sensory descriptors ranged from very low to medium intensity (1.33 to 3.83 on a scale of 5). Both acceptability and classification tests showed that cookies produced with 20% of refined oil (RCO and RPO) and those with 16% of CPO were the most preferred and RCO and RPO with 20% of the oil were appreciated as control cookies produced with 20% of margarine. The colour, texture and fat impression had most influenced the consumers’ preferences. RCO, RPO and CPO exhibit the potential to be used as substitutes to margarine to produce sorghum cookies.

Aims: Lipids have important role in cookies production depending on their nature and function. In this study, the effect of refined cottonseeds oil (RCO), refined palm oil (RPO), and red (or crude) palm oil (CPO) on physicochemical characteristics of gluten-free sorghum cookies was evaluated and compared to control gluten-free cookies produced with a margarine (M20). Methodology: RCO and RPO were incorporated at the level of 20 % and CPO at the level of 16%. The physicochemical characteristics were determined according to standard methods of analysis. Results: Moisture, ash, proteins, lipids, sugar, fiber, pH, fat acidity, and energy value were  ranged  respectively between 0.12 ± 0.05 and 1.72 ± 0.02 % ; 2.00 ± 0.00 and 2.34 ± 0.01% (g/100g DM) ; 6.91 ± 0,08 and 7.49 ± 0.07% (g/100g DM) ; 20.61 ± 0.01 and 25.62 ± 0.53% (g/100g DM) ; 61.71 ± 0.52 and 65.79 ± 0.23% (g/100g DM) ; 3.41 ± 0.52 and 8.02 ± 2.04% (g/100g DM) ; 7.01 ± 0.00 and 7.36 ± 0.00; 0.03± 0.00 and 0.11 % of H2SO4 ; 462.70 ± 8.17 and 505.79 ±5.32 Kcal. The use of RCO and RPO induced significantly increase of the fat content. But, the moisture, ash, fat, sugar and the energy of the experimental and control cookies are in accordance with the recommended value of the guidelines of codex Alimentarius on supplementary foods for older infants and young children. Conclusion: RCO, RPO and CPO exhibit the potential to be used as substitutes to margarine in the production of gluten-free cookies with interesting nutritional values.

Abstract. Poor folate status is implicated in a wide variety of health disorders including megaloblastic anaemia, neural tube defects, and cardiovascular diseases. Human diet remains the main provider par excellence. Despite several public-health options to overcome this micronutrient deficiency, dietary folate intakes of women of childbearing age and children are still below recommendations in many African countries. Therefore, this review aims at presenting the current knowledge on folate contents in various African foods, and on folate losses during food processing. Seventy one food sources were evaluated in this study. These various food sources included thirty six vegetables, six cereals, height cereal products, six processed leafy vegetables, six pulses, three fruits, three legumes and three roots. All of them were originated from six African countries including Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa. Folate content ranged between 11 and 73.4 μg/100 g in cereals, 1.8 and 39 μg/100 g in cereal-based processed foods, 8.48 and 48.6 μg/100 g in cooked leafy vegetables, 11.6 and 633 μg/100 g in vegetables, 10 and 22 μg/100 g in pulses, 52 and 148 μg/100 g in legumes, 8 and 106 μg/100 g in fruits. The structure of the food matrix has been shown to influence folate digestibility in foods. High bioaccessible folate, assessed by in vitro digestion, was observed among food products with dense porosity structures while low bioaccessible folate was recorded among food products with open porous structures such as porridges and some gelatinized doughs. Numerous food processing steps have also been shown to influence negatively folate contents in foods.