VATIS UPDATE Article

Food scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have formulated a recipe for making healthier bread by adding a natural plant pigment, called anthocyanin, extracted from black rice. This new bread option gets digested at a slower rate – hence improving blood glucose control – and is high in antioxidants, among other health benefits. “Despite their antioxidant capacity and associated health benefits, the knowledge of using anthocyanins as an ingredient in food products, particularly semi-solid products, is very limited,” said Professor Weibiao Zhou, at the NUS.

The researchers found that digestion rates of the anthocyanin-fortified bread were reduced by 12.8% when 1% of anthocyanin extract from black rice was added into the bread dough and baked at the optimal condition of 200°C for 8 min. The digestion rate dropped further to 20.5% when the amount of anthocyanin extract increased to 4%. However, at 4% the bread became dense and less elastic. Another area of interest for the team was to explore a way to incorporate anthocyanins into bread to improve its value as a health-promoting food. The team had previously conducted a study in 2014 to examine the degradation of anthocyanins during baking.

They found that more than 80% of the antioxidant capacity was retained in the bread crust and crumb, even when baked at temperatures as high as 240°C for up to 12 min. “Our results demonstrate that it is indeed feasible to create functional food products through anthocyanin fortification, using bread as an example. We hope to conduct further studies to incorporate anthocyanins into other food items, such as biscuits. Our team is also keen to explore opportunities to work with industry partners to introduce the anthocyanin-fortified bread to the market,” said Zhou.