Physicochemical and functional properties of wheat-rain tree (Samanea saman) pod composite flours

Rain tree pod (RTP) has the potential to contribute to food security, but it is underutilized in Ghana. In this study, the physicochemical, mineral, functional, and pasting properties of RTP flour as a composite with wheat flour at different inclusion levels (5–30%) were evaluated. The moisture, crude protein, ash, crude fat, crude fiber, and carbohydrate were in the range of 8.3–9.2%, 12.3–14.89%, 0.80–1.42%,1.25–1.45%, 0.32–1.35%, and 72.13–75.47%, respectively. The composite flours had considerable mineral content (Ca, Mg, Na, and P) with K (807–1153 mg/100 g) being the most abundant, but K and Na were improved in the composite flour T3 (15%). The composite flours had varied bulk densities with Hausner’s ratio in the range 1.32–1.59, 4.47–6.72% foaming capacity, 86.32–96.61% foaming stability, 9.09–15.44% solubility, 6.3–6.96% swelling power, 137.4–63.8% oil absorption capacity, and 149.74-202.97% water absorption capacity. The pasting properties of the composite flour samples ranged from 9.87 to 11.07 min peak time, 50.7–90.83°C pasting temperature, 555.0–1527.0 RVU peak viscosity, 384.0–1004.5 RVU trough viscosity, 95–768RVU breakdown viscosity, 150.0–371 setback viscosity, and 600.0–1141.0 RVU final viscosity. Overall, the findings showed that the RTP-wheat composite flours had appreciable nutrient and functional properties that could be exploited in potential food formulations.