Pumpkin Fruit Flour as a Source for Food Enrichment in Dietary Fiber

Abstract

It is believed that fiber-rich diet reduces the risk of certain cancers, coronary heart and other diseases. Dietary fiber (DF) is not only used for its nutritional properties, but also for its functional and technological properties. Thus, to supplement daily diet, dietary fiber should be incorporated into frequently consumed foods. Pumpkins are a good source of carotenoids, mineral salts, vitamins, and other bioactive substances, such as phenol compounds. Also the pumpkin flour could be used for food enriching as fiber supplement. In the study standard methods were applied to determine and compare the neutral dietary fiber (NDF), acid dietary fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL) and water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) contents in pumpkins fruits flour obtained from different species and cultivars. The results imply that pumpkin fruit flour should be recommended as the component suitable for food production with high content of DF. The fiber content in the pumpkin fruit flour depends on the cultivar. The maximum insoluble fiber content (NDF, ADF, ADL) was accumulated in C. maxima ‘Kroshka’ pumpkin flour: 26.50%, 24.65% and 14.35%, respectively, and this cultivar is the most suitable one for enriching food with dietary fiber.