Effect of flaxseed addition on the omega-3 fatty acid composition of pan bread and Arabic bread

Flaxseed being a useful source of ω-3 fatty acid (alpha linolenic acid, ALA)has been used as whole flaxseed and crushed flaxseed to develop acceptable quality functional food products, namely pan bread and Arabic bread. The addition of whole and crushed flaxseed 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% in all of these products with white wheat flour and wholegrain wheat flour had significant effect on their nutritional quality when compared with the control sample. In the flaxseed based products, the alpha linolenic acid was the predominant fatty acid followed by oleic acid and linoleic acid. The average of ω-3 alpha linolenic acid content in wholegrain wheat flour pan bread with crushed flaxseed ranged from 11.75 to 17.95% and with whole flaxseed ranged from 13.75 to 23.05%, when compared with wholegrain wheat flour control (3.55%). Average of ω-3 alpha linolenic acid content on wholegrain wheat flour Arabic bread with crushed flaxseed ranged from 20.0 to 26.75% and with the whole flaxseed it ranged from 27.1 to 38.65%, when compared with the wholegrain wheat flour control (4.0%). The research data presented in this report lends staunch support to the view that good-quality bread nutritionally rich in ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acids (e.g., linolenic, oleic, linoleic acid), can be produced successfully to provide health-promoting functional food products to the consumers.