Paper Title
SENSORY, NUTRITIONAL AND BIOACTIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF FORMULATED NOVEL CEREAL NUTRI BAR ENDOWED WITH PUMPKIN SEED POWDER AND WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE

Abstract
Abstract – Introduction: Nowadays, health-conscious consumers attend to nutritional, health, and easy-to-use products. There is a marked rise in the demand for nutritious snacks. The objective of our research was to create functional cereal nutri bars by utilizing whey protein concentrate powder and pumpkin seed powder, and to evaluate their overall quality. Study objects and methods: We analyzed seventeen cereal nutri bars samples for sensory analysis and the best cereal nutri bar was carried out for further mineral, amino acids, sugar content and bioactive components. Mineral and amino acids content were performed following the AAS and HPLC method. Bioactive compounds of the cereal nutri bars were determined by the 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging modified method, respectively. Results and discussion: Results of sensory evaluation showed the T9 cereal nutri bar scored the highest mean score among all seventeen treatments of cereal nutri bars. Mineral content analysis revealed that cereal nutri bar have a significant amount of copper, iron, zinc and calcium. Essential amino acids such as cysteine, threonine, phenylalanine, lysine, methionine, tyrosine and BCAA have significant amounts in cereal nutri bar. Cereal nutri bar had significantly higher total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity respectively. Conclusion: This study revealed how developed functional cereal nutri bars boost revenues in the snack industry and enable the development of novel snack bar varieties. Keywords - Cereal Nutri Bar, Pumpkin seed Powder, whey Protein Concentrate, Sensory Evaluation, Amino Acids, Bioactive Components