LAUSR

BACKGROUND Nixtamalized flour snacks like tortilla chips are widely consumed across the world, but they are nutritionally poor and contribute to obesity and other non-communicable diseases. The production of healthy versions of such snacks, by incorporating vegetables and improving the quality of the flours used in their formulation could help addressing these nutritional challenges. This study compared the fortification of baked tortilla chips with vegetable leaf powders (kale and wild amaranth at 0, 4, 8, and 16% w/w), and using two types of nixtamalized flour: traditional (TNF) and ohmic heating (OHF). RESULTS The use of OHF increased 1.88 times the fibre in snacks with respect to TNF, but the latter had 1.85 times more protein. Addition of 16% of vegetable powders increased protein (Kale=1.4-fold; Amaranth=1.3-fold) and dietary fibre (Kale=1.52-fold; Amaranth=1.7-fold). Amaranth enrichment improved total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of chips 1.2 and 1.63 times at least, respectively. OHF chips also had higher bound TPC than TNF ones, regardless of vegetable of addition. Combinations OHF-Amaranth-16% produced chips 1.74-fold higher in antioxidant capacity than non-enriched ones, due to increased contents of phenolics like ferulic acid. CONCLUSIONS This work showed that tortilla chips made using nixtamalized flour produced with assisted OH technology alone or in combination with wild amaranth leaf powder addition could be used in the production of healthy maize snacks to enhance their prospective antioxidant activity and nutritional value. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.