Abstract
Because of the growing consumer demand for healthy foods, new snacks have started to emerge as an alternative to the usual snacks regarded as nutritionally poor. The aim of this study was to develop functional maize snacks enriched with 5%, 10% and 20% purple carrot powder by extrusion. Physical parameters, sensorial evaluation, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of the snacks are included in the study. As a result, 5% and 10% enriched snacks exhibited adequate expansion index and bulk density. On the contrary, 20% enriched snacks were excluded from further consideration due to unsatisfactory physical and sensory properties. The incorporation of 5% or 10% of purple carrot powder to yellow maize flour resulted in more than double an increase in total content of polyphenols, anthocyanins, carotenoids and antioxidant activity in terms of DPPH and FRAP activities. The extrusion-cooking process did not affect either health-promoting compound content or antioxidant properties of the flours used in the elaboration of the snacks. The maize snacks enriched with 5% or 10% of purple carrot powder are proposed as gluten-free and nutritional alternatives to typical unhealthy snacks.