Physicochemical properties, antioxidant activities, beta-carotene content, and sensory properties of gluten-free pumpkin-fortified egg roll

Egg roll is a wheat snack popular among Asians, including Indonesians. Efforts to make egg roll a functional food are hindered by the declining domestic supply of wheat flour. It calls for alternative local raw materials such as mocaf and pumpkin flour to make egg rolls. This research investigated the influence of varying pumpkin incorporation levels on the physicochemical properties, antioxidant capacity, β-carotene content, and sensory profile of gluten-free egg rolls. The varying pumpkin additions were 0%, 8%, 16%, 24%, and 32%, with two replicates. The gluten-free egg rolls were subjected to physical analysis (hardness, brittleness, and microstructure), chemical analysis (moisture content, protein, ash, fat, carbohydrates by difference, crude fiber, β-carotene, and antioxidant activity), and panelist sensory test (color, aroma, taste, crispiness, and overall preference). Sensory evaluation results, as reported by panelists, showed that gluten-free egg rolls with 24% pumpkin added received the highest acceptance ratings based on attributes such as color, aroma, taste, crispness, and overall preference. Chemical analysis demonstrated that the addition of pumpkin to gluten-free egg rolls could increase β-carotene levels to 207.74 µg/g and antioxidant activity to 45.89%. Conclusively, gluten-free pumpkin-fortified egg rolls are a potential functional food.