Feasibility of use of buckwheat flour as an ingredient in ginger nut biscuit formulation

Ginger nut biscuits are popular traditional biscuits which contain honey. In order to improve their nutritive profile and functionality, standard formulation based on wheat flour was substituted with buckwheat flour at three levels (30%, 40%, 50%). The quality attributes (chemical composition, microelements, bioactive compounds (total polyphenols, rutin, quercetin), antioxidative potential, textural and sensory properties) were compared to control biscuit (based on wheat flour) and biscuits substituted with rye at the same levels, since rye is used as an ingredient which improves the quality of ginger nut biscuits. Substitution with buckwheat flour resulted in a significant increase (p < 0.05) in protein, Zn, total polyphenols, antioxidative and chelating activity. Total dietary fibre, Cu, Mn and Fe contents also increased but did not exceed those in rye substituted biscuits. Consumption of 100 g of enriched biscuits could contribute to reaching ≈18–22% (buckwheat) and 16–17% (rye) of the estimated daily average total polyphenols intake, respectively. With the contents of rutin and quercetin at 3.96–6.57 mg/100 g d.b. and 0.087–0.214 mg/100 g d.b., respectively, buckwheat substituted biscuits may significantly contribute to total dietary flavonoid intake and meet the demands of preventive nutrition. Buckwheat enriched biscuits were rated higher regarding sensory attributes, softness and fracturability as compared to control but lower compared to rye supplemented biscuits.