Functionalization of Pea Pod Powder for Effective Utilization in Instant Noodles

Peapod shells form a major agricultural waste of the pea processing industry. Utilization of pea pod shell as a nutritional ingredient can be a promising way to consume it but is not practiced due to techno-functional limitations. In this study, peapod shell powder was functionalized through extrusion and toasting to induce protein-protein interactions that could benefit its utilization as an ingredient in instant noodles. Extruded and toasted pea pod powder demonstrated decreased extractable protein (57%) and increased disulfide bonding (0.004 free sulfhydryl) compared to control (69% and 0.016, respectively) indicating increased protein cross linking during processing. Extrusion processing did not significantly impact the antioxidant capacity of pea pod powder (38.4% vs. 43.2% for control) and thus was selected for functionalization. The functionalized pea pod powder was then incorporated at different levels in instant noodles. The physico-functional properties of extruded pea pod powder fortified noodles (10% fortification) were enhanced as compareutilid to raw pea pod powder fortified noodles and did not significantly differ from control noodles. Thus functionalization of pea pod powder to induce structural modification in proteins can aid in using it as a nutrient rich ingredient in popular food matrices such as instant noodles.