Nutritional qualities and antioxidant properties of ginger‐flavored biscuits developed from wheat, bambara groundnut, and plantain flour blends

Abstract Global research toward the utilization of spices in plant‐based foods for the management of diseases resulting from the generation of free radicals has been progressive drastically. Ginger contains bioactive compounds with anti‐inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Hence, the effect of ginger on nutritional and antioxidant properties of biscuits produced from wheat, bambara groundnut, and plantain was investigated. Bambara groundnut flour (BF) and unripe plantain flour (PF) were used to supplement wheat flour (WF) to produce flour blends that were flavored with 2.5% ginger powder (GP) to produce ginger‐flavored biscuits, whereas 100% WF biscuit served as the control. The protein content of the biscuits ranged from 8.07% to 10.30%, whereas calcium (33.01–42.33 mg/100 g) was the most abundant mineral element in the biscuits. Essential amino acids, in vitro protein, and starch digestibility of the biscuits ranged from 30.03 to 35.31 g/100 g protein, 67.95% to 69.36%, and 51.86% to 52.35%, respectively. Total phenol and total flavonoid contents of the biscuits ranged from 2.86 to 4.48 mg GAE/g and 1.65 to 2.87 mg QE/g, respectively. However, there was no significant difference ( p ≥ .05) in the overall acceptability of the biscuits. The ginger‐flavored biscuits demonstrated higher antioxidant properties than the control biscuit. Nevertheless, BFB‐1 (biscuit produced from 54.74% WF:13.68% BF:31.58% PF:2.5% GP) had the highest total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant properties that could be attributed to its level of phenolic constituents. Hence, BFB‐1 could serve as a functional food for the management of oxidative stress‐related diseases.