Impact of Sunflower Meal Protein Isolate Supplementation on Pasta Quality

Globally, there is an increased demand for plant- and animal-derived proteins. However, animal-derived proteins are still expensive and expected to negatively impact the environment. Sunflower seeds, an excellent source of proteins, are one of the most critical oilseeds produced in the world markets. This study used sunflower meal protein isolate (SMPI), wheat flour (WF), and their blends to make pasta with good sensory features and higher nutritional value. The chemical and amino acid compositions, rheological properties, color attributes, cooking quality, sensory properties, and texture analysis of pasta were evaluated. SMPI showed a high protein content (87.12%) compared to WF (10.90%). The pasta was made from WF with supplementing SMPI at three concentrations (3.0, 6.0, and 9.0% w/w) to improve the nutritional quality. Farinograph parameters showed that water absorption, arrival time, dough development time, mixing tolerance index, dough weakening, and dough stability increased as the percentage of SMPI in the blends increased. The results also showed that the color (L*, a*, and b*) of pasta samples was darker as the mixing level of SMPI increased. The obtained sensorial results confirmed this result. The cooking quality of pasta revealed that the weight, volume, and cooking loss of prepared pasta with SMPI (3.0–9.0%) increased compared to the control sample (pasta with 100% WF). Moreover, sensory evaluation of pasta revealed that all samples were acceptable. Nonetheless, mouth feel and overall acceptability of pasta reinforced with 3.0 and 6.0% SMPI did not notably impact the pasta compared to the control sample, while flavor did not significantly influence the pasta with 3.0% SMPI. These findings demonstrated that pasta supplemented with SMPI could benefit the pasta industry, which requires a suitable technological process to obtain novel products.