Bread fortified with anthocyanin-rich extract from black rice as nutraceutical sources: Its quality attributes and in vitro digestibility

• We reported the quality and digestion behaviors of bread fortified with ABREP.
• We developed a model to describe the digestion rate of bread with/without ABREP.
• This study can be a reference for understanding the digestibility of bread with ABREP.
• This study offers a new approach for producing bread with a lower digestion rate.

Anthocyanin-rich black rice extract powder (ABREP) as a nutraceutical source was fortified into bread. The quality and digestibility behaviors of bread with ABREP were evaluated through instrumental and in vitro digestion studies. The quality of bread with 2% of ABREP was not significantly (p > 0.05) different from the control bread; however, increasing the ABREP level to 4% caused less elasticity and higher density of bread. A mathematical model was further developed to systemically describe the trajectory of bread digestion. The digestion rates of bread with ABREP were found to be reduced by 12.8%, 14.1%, and 20.5% for bread with 1%, 2%, and 4% of ABREP, respectively. Results of the study suggest that the fortification of anthocyanins into bread could be an alternative way to produce functional bread with a lower digestion rate and extra health benefits.