Antioxidant Parkia speciosa pod powder as potential functional flour in food application: Physicochemical properties’ characterization

Chemical, physicochemical and functional properties of fibrous materials from freeze dried (FDPSP) and oven dried (ODPSP) Parkia speciosa pod (PSP) were evaluated in order to examine the potential applications in food. Preliminary screening of PSP using scanning electron microscope showed that PSP consisted of starches and fibres. Proximate analysis showed that both samples consisted of 4.3–5.2% of moisture, 9.5–10.7% of protein, 0.1–0.2% of fat, 0.01% of ash, 16.5–16.8% of crude fibre and 68.3–68.7% of carbohydrates. However, different functional properties were shown in these samples. FDPSP gave a lighter colour compared to ODPSP. Higher values of solubility (30.8%), water- and oil-holding capacities (3.72 and 1.55 g/g, respectively) were found in FDPSP. Conversely, higher emulsifying activity of 62.7% with high emulsion stability of 99.9% was shown in ODPSP. Higher antioxidative properties were also shown in FDPSP which consist TPC of 110.0 mg gallic acid equivalent/g sample and TFC of 8.5 mg pyrocatechol equivalents/g sample. These extracts (pre-diluted 50×) gave %DPPHsc, %ABTSsc and FRAP values of 65.3%, 77.4% and 1.9 mM FeSO4, respectively. Therefore, it was suggested that PSP has the potential in producing functional fibres that could be imparted into the food system.