Oil Content and Fatty Acids Composition of Cookies Produced from Blends of Tigernut and Wheat Flour

--Tigernut is an underutilized crop but only recently its demand has increased tremendously because of its values. Composite flours were formulated from wheat and tigernut flour mixed in the ratios 100:0, 0:100, 80:20, 70:30 and 50: 50. Cookies were made from the composite flour samples and analyzed for sensory composition. The fat content of the cookies were extracted and evaluated for iodine value, free fatty acids, saponification va lue and fa t ty acid composition. The fatty acid composition was analysed by gas chromatography–spectroscopy. The iodine value, FFA and saponification values varied from 20.3 – 32 gI2/g, 0.55 -0.82% and 27.49 67.04 mgKOH/g respectively. The FAMEs present were, C17:0, C18:0, C18:1n-9, C18:3n-6, C20:3n-6 , C22:1. The to tal SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs determined for each samples in the range of 33-49%, 46-59% and 5-8 .1% respectively. Both decrease and increases in the amount of SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs were observed. Sensory evaluation revea ls that the taste and texture of the cookies made from wheat flour substituted with 20% tigernut flour was most preferable. The quantity and quality of the lipid fraction of the cookies indicated that all analysed cookies are a good source of SFAs, MUFAs and PUFAs consequently posing no threat to the health of the consumers. Keywords---Wheat, tigernut, cookies, fatty acid composition _________________________________________________________________________________________________ PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Tiger nut as an underutilized crop is high in dietary fibre content which could be effective in the treatment and prevention of many diseases including colon cancer, coronary heart diseases, obesity, diabetics and gastrointestinal d isorders. Tiger nut flour has been demonstrated to be a rich source of quality oil and contains moderate amount of protein. The blend of tiger nut with wheat will provide a traditional nutritious food to more people at lower cost and to utilize indigenous crops to a greater extent and also it will improve the nutritional quality and health benefits of cookies produced from tiger nut.