Effect of Garden Cress (Lepidium sativum L.) Seeds Supplementation on the Sensory and Nutritive Quality of Laddu

Abstract

Laddu is one of the traditional sweet snacks which is not only popular among children but also liked by every age group and every section of population. It can be supplemented with garden cress seeds (Lepidium sativum L.) to make it nutritious. Therefore, a trial has been conducted to develop and evaluate nutritious garden cress laddu. Garden cress seeds were supplemented in laddu at different levels (5%, 10% and 15%) and tested on nine-point hedonic scale by trained and untrained panellists to observe acceptability. The most acceptable trial (10%) was analysed for nutritive value against control. Mean scores were found highest (7.6) for overall acceptability at 10% garden cress seed supplementation after control. The acceptable supplemented laddu contained higher percentage of protein (6.52%), fat (27.47%), ash (1%), fibre (1.17%) and energy (528.67 kcal/100 g). Significant (p ≥ 0.01) improvement was also observed in the case of calcium (44.51 mg/100 g), iron (3.53 mg/100 g) and zinc (1.82 mg/100 g) content of laddu. Lysine (4.31 g/100 g protein) and tryptophan (0.93 g/100 g protein) were also increased with supplementation. Significant (p ≥ 0.01) increase in MUFA and PUFA content was also observed with supplementation. Roasted garden cress-supplemented laddu was found to be rich in macro- and micronutrients as compared to control laddu. It has potential to be a part of diet of poor and malnourished children through various supplementary feeding programmes.