Nur Syakilla, Patricia Matanjun, and Ramlah George
1Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Caulerpa lentillifera has gained popularity among consumers and researchers in recent years due to its intriguingly good nutritional profile. In Asian countries, it is commonly consumed directly, usually in salads and pickles. The objective of this study is to explore whether the fortification of different levels of C. lentillifera powder (CLP) concentration in noodles could potentially improve its nutrient profile. The sensory attributes and the nutrient content of the developed noodles were evaluated. Five formulations of noodles containing different percentages of CLP, 0% (F1), 2.5% (F2), 5.0% (F3), 7.5% (F4), and 9.0% (F5) were developed. A sensory evaluation based on a hedonic scale involving 50 untrained panellists was conducted to determine the best formulation of noodles fortified with CLP. All formulations were subjected to proximate and mineral analyses. From the sensory evaluation, the noodle with the best formulation was F2 (2.5% CLP) as it has the highest score in all sensory attributes tested among all formulations with CLP. The incorporation of 2.5% CLP increased the mineral and protein content of the noodles significantly at p< 0.05. In conclusion, CLP incorporation in noodles improves its nutrient profile, and the sensory attributes of noodles containing 2.5% CLP were found to be acceptable.