Omega-3 rich foods: Durum wheat spaghetti fortified with Portulaca oleracea

Abstract

Portulaca oleracea is an annual succulent herb (purslane) with high antioxidant properties and high content of essential ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids, ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol and β-carotene. In the present study, sensorial and chemical analyses of uncooked and cooked durum wheat pasta fortified with purslane from three different Sicilian areas and at three different concentrations (5, 10 and 15%) were estimated. The sensorial analysis showed that the scores of the overall acceptance decreased considerably in pasta with 15% purslane, while consumers appreciated pasta samples with 10% purslane. Chemical analysis highlighted that the addition of purslane gave pasta samples the potential to be a functional food, due α-linonenic fatty acid concentration, antioxidant activity and total phenols content. The influence of the origin of purslane used to enrich pasta was evident: the “Cassibile” purslane supplemented spaghetti showed the highest content of linoleic and α-linolenic acids and the highest antioxidant activity.