Naima Bennour1,2,*, Hedi Mighri1, Nesrine Harboub1, Hajer Eljeni1, Naima Chouikhi1, Marwa Harabi1, Ahmed Akrout1
1Laboratory of Rangeland Ecosystems and Valorization of Spontaneous Plants and Associated Microorganisms (LR16IRA03), Arid Regions Institute, Medenine 4119, Tunisia.
2Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Gabes, Gabes 6029, Tunisia.
*Corresponding author: Naima Bennour
Abstract
Two types of traditional Tunisian biscuits, named Jouza (JDM) and Kaaber (KDM), were developed using dates as a natural sweetener, without white sugar, and enriched with Moringa oleifera leaf powder. The commercial versions of these biscuits without enrichment were used as references (Jouza Reference (JR) and Kaaber Reference (KR)). Physicochemical, nutritional, and sensory analyses were performed on these four types of biscuits. The addition of date powder and Moringa significantly increased the mineral content (14.92% for JDM and 17.90% for KDM), fiber content (59% for JDM and 40% for KDM), and protein content (11.69% for JDM and 13.57% for KDM). The two enriched biscuits are also richer in potassium (38.9 and 57.6 g/kg DM, respectively), magnesium (4.3 and 6.45 g/kg DM, respectively), total polyphenols (40.23 and 31.21 mg GAE/g DE, respectively), and total flavonoids (3.42 and 2.40 mg QE/g DE, respectively). In terms of sugars, the enriched biscuits have higher concentrations of glucose and fructose, while the references are dominated by sucrose. Sensory evaluation showed that the enriched biscuits were generally appreciated by consumers, with scores similar to those of the reference biscuits. This study demonstrates that the incorporation of date powder and Moringa adds value to traditional products.
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How to cite this paper
Physicochemical, Nutritional, and Sensory Evaluation of Two Neo-formulated Tunisian Pastry Products Based on Dates and Enriched with Moringa oleifera
How to cite this paper: Naima Bennour, Hedi Mighri, Nesrine Harboub, Hajer Eljeni, Naima Chouikhi, Marwa Harabi, Ahmed Akrout. (2025). Physicochemical, Nutritional, and Sensory Evaluation of Two Neo-formulated Tunisian Pastry Products Based on Dates and Enriched with Moringa oleifera. Plant Physiology and Ecology, 2(1), 1-8.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/ppe.2025.06.001