Use and characterization of flour obtained from oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifolia l.) plant as food raw material

Present study aims to investigate, the potential use of oleaster flour in functional biscuit formulations for evaluating the incorporation of oleaster fruit, in order to increase its dietary fiber and bioactive compounds, to enhance product functionality through its bioactive components, and determining the optimal substitution level of oleaster flour in the biscuit formulation. For this purpose, oleaster fruits were grounded into fine powder with its skin and seed , and oleaster flour was then incorporated into biscuit dough by substituting wheat flour at levels of 10%, 15%, 20%, and 30%. Chemical (moisture, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity), physical (color), and sensory (color, biscuit-specific aroma, etc.) analyses were conducted on control sample and oleaster flour containing biscuit samples. According to the results, the moisture content of oleaster flour was determined as 1800%, while the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were found to be 263,89 µg GAE/g and 58,51%, respectively. The L*, a*, and b* values of oleaster flour were measured as 67,67, 5,69, and 20,25, respectively. Depending on the substitution level of oleaster flour in biscuit production, the moisture content of the biscuits ranged between 9,41% and 10,64%, the total phenolic content ranged between 53,89 and 200,69 µg GAE/g, and the antioxidant capacity ranged between 0,153 and 3,529 mg TE/g sample. In addition, the color values of oleaster flour-enriched biscuits were found to be L*: 37,43–66,91, a*: –0,12–9.87, and b*: 5,57–20,57. Sensory evaluation results revealed that the biscuit samples were rated between 4,1 and 5,16 in terms of overall acceptability.Considering all findings, it was concluded that biscuits enriched with oleaster flour can be recommended as a functional biscuit alternative with high consumer acceptability.