Physicochemical, microstructural and digestibility analysis of gluten-free spaghetti of whole unripe plantain flour.

Plantain is a climacteric fruit having economic relevance in several tropical regions. Unripe plantain is an alternative source of indigestible carbohydrates (dietary fibre) and undigestible starch fraction. Unripe plantain flour was explored in this work as an alternative ingredient (whole and pulp) in spaghetti formulations. Chemical composition, cooking quality, texture analysis, and microstructure of spaghetti formulations were analyzed. The microstructure results showed that the presence of fiber in the food matrix helped the reduction of the starch granule swelling in the cooking process. Spaghetti made with whole plantain flour exhibited lower rapidly starch fraction, with increased resistant starch fractions. Overall, the whole unripe plantain flour exhibited good potential for gluten-free spaghetti having highest content of fiber and lower starch digestion rates.