Impact of pregelatinized composite flour on nutritional and functional properties of gluten-free cereal-based cake premixes

The beneficial effects of a healthy diet on the quality of life become the nutritional and the functional values crucial aspects of gluten-free products. Therefore, the present study aimed attention at optimizing cake premix formulations, based on gluten-free cereals (red sorghum whole-grain and polished rice), using orange pomace flour and whey powder as nutrient-rich by-products. The main goal is to investigate the nutritional and functional characteristics of gluten-free cakes made from premixes. The simplex-centroid mixture design was used to evaluate the effect of red sorghum whole-grain, polished rice, and pregelatinized composite flours on the nutritional (protein, lipid, ash, total dietary fiber, and carbohydrates contents and in vitro protein digestibility) and functional (total phenolic content and antioxidant capacities) properties of gluten-free cakes made from premixes. All gluten-free cakes in this study can be labeled as protein and dietary fiber sources, besides being enriched in bioactive compounds. A joined analysis of all nutritional and functional characteristics presented in this study highlights that our optimized gluten-free cereal-based cakes meet environmental and physiological sustainabilities because the employment of red sorghum whole-grain and pregelatinized composite flours were very effective in the improvement of these characteristics, even after these ingredients were subjected to two thermal processes (thermoplastic extrusion and baking).