Low Moisture Extrusion of Intermediate Wheatgrass-pea Starch Blends: Production and Characterization of Ready-to-eat Extruded Snacks

Low Moisture Extrusion of Intermediate Wheatgrass-pea Starch Blends: Production and Characterization of Ready-to-eat Extruded Snacks | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Low Moisture Extrusion of Intermediate Wheatgrass-pea Starch Blends: Production and Characterization of Ready-to-eat Extruded Snacks Hazrat Usman, Cecia Flores-Sanchez, George Amponsah Annor This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8713961/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 14 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Intermediate wheatgrass ( Thinopyrum intermedium , IWG), enriched with protein and dietary fiber, has the potential to deliver both food and ecosystem service benefits. However, its lower starch content limits expansion of the extrudates during extrusion, reducing its suitability for ready-to-eat (RTE) snacks. Pea starch, a by-product in pea protein production, can enhance functional attributes of extruded products. Therefore, this systematic study was conducted to optimize the extrusion parameters to produce RTE snacks through a co-rotating twin screw extruder to meet the increasing demand for nutritious novel foods. Box-Behnken design coupled with response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects of pea starch percentage, feed moisture, screw speed and barrel temperature on product responses (expansion ratio, bulk density, hardness, crispiness, color (L*), water absorption index, water solubility index) and processing response (specific mechanical energy) whose value varied from 1.08 to 2.16, 0.13 to 0.34 g/cm 3 , 30.33 to 109.74 (N), 284.68 to 751.43 N.s, 72.71 to 80.55, 4.49 to 6.59 g/g, 21.45 to 35.91% and 586.40 to1132.09 KJ/Kg respectively. Response surface regression models were established to determine the response variables. Regression models for all the responses were highly significant (p < 0.01) with co-efficient determination ranged from 0.80 to 0.98. The optimum conditions obtained by multi-response optimization for the development of RTE extruded snacks were IWG flour to pea starch ratio (46:54), feed moisture 19.57%, screw speed 241 rpm and barrel temperature 131°C. This paper therefore explores the optimization of processing conditions for the development of RTE extruded snacks from IWG-pea starch blends. perennial grains sustainable agriculture optimization extrusion thermal processing Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 10 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 10 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 18 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 31 Jan, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 28 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 27 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8713961","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":583711563,"identity":"da3a7226-68c4-48a7-b406-1e2a25862c51","order_by":0,"name":"Hazrat Usman","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Minnesota","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hazrat","middleName":"","lastName":"Usman","suffix":""},{"id":583711564,"identity":"12ef509a-b35d-4591-8172-d298fd93003a","order_by":1,"name":"Cecia Flores-Sanchez","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Minnesota","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Cecia","middleName":"","lastName":"Flores-Sanchez","suffix":""},{"id":583711565,"identity":"77297612-3d52-49e2-ab68-6c0f0492b05d","order_by":2,"name":"George Amponsah Annor","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAoklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPACGwjFQ4KWNNK1HCZBi7z72WMPPu45n7h2dgPjg7dtRGgxPJOXbjjj2e3EbXcOMBvOJUpLQ46ZNM8BoJYbCWzSvERp6X8D0nIOpIX9N1Fa5CXAthwA28JMlBYDiTdmkjMOJBtvu5HYLDnnHDG29OeYSXw4YCe77UbywQ9vyoix5QCcydhAhHqQLUSqGwWjYBSMgpEMAPOwOK3NITkLAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Minnesota","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"George","middleName":"Amponsah","lastName":"Annor","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-27 19:53:19","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8713961/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8713961/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":101753515,"identity":"16c81962-a595-4b39-a181-2ada6883500f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-03 10:40:11","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2811402,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"LOWMOISTUREEXTRUSIONOFINTERMEDIATEWHEATGRASSPEASTARCHBLENDSPRODUCTIONANDCHARACTERIZATIONOFREADYTOEATEXTRUDEDSNACKSBYHUandGA.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8713961/v1_covered_9a1b9e7c-7402-4e78-a2b7-4aced8c68874.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eLow Moisture Extrusion of Intermediate Wheatgrass-pea Starch Blends: Production and Characterization of Ready-to-eat Extruded Snacks\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"food-and-bioprocess-technology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Food and Bioprocess Technology](https://www.springer.com/journal/11947)","snPcode":"11947","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11947/3","title":"Food and Bioprocess Technology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"perennial grains, sustainable agriculture, optimization, extrusion, thermal processing","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8713961/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8713961/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIntermediate wheatgrass (\u003cem\u003eThinopyrum intermedium\u003c/em\u003e, IWG), enriched with protein and dietary fiber, has the potential to deliver both food and ecosystem service benefits. However, its lower starch content limits expansion of the extrudates during extrusion, reducing its suitability for ready-to-eat (RTE) snacks. Pea starch, a by-product in pea protein production, can enhance functional attributes of extruded products. Therefore, this systematic study was conducted to optimize the extrusion parameters to produce RTE snacks through a co-rotating twin screw extruder to meet the increasing demand for nutritious novel foods. Box-Behnken design coupled with response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects of pea starch percentage, feed moisture, screw speed and barrel temperature on product responses (expansion ratio, bulk density, hardness, crispiness, color (L*), water absorption index, water solubility index) and processing response (specific mechanical energy) whose value varied from 1.08 to 2.16, 0.13 to 0.34 g/cm\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e, 30.33 to 109.74 (N), 284.68 to 751.43 N.s, 72.71 to 80.55, 4.49 to 6.59 g/g, 21.45 to 35.91% and 586.40 to1132.09 KJ/Kg respectively. Response surface regression models were established to determine the response variables. Regression models for all the responses were highly significant (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) with co-efficient determination ranged from 0.80 to 0.98. The optimum conditions obtained by multi-response optimization for the development of RTE extruded snacks were IWG flour to pea starch ratio (46:54), feed moisture 19.57%, screw speed 241 rpm and barrel temperature 131\u0026deg;C. 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