Researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have developed a nutritional enriched tortilla to help solve the country’s obesity and malnutrition problems.
The tortillas are carried out by a double fermentation process and are strengthened with proteins, calcium, fibers, folic acid, probiotics and prebiotics. The double fermentation process reduces pH (a measurement of acidity and alkali) and increases the conservation time of food so that artificial preservatives are not necessary.
The addition of probiotics – living microorganisms – is beneficial for the health of the consumer, explains Dr. Raquel Gómez, microbiologist and member of the UNAM research team.
“Living microorganisms are beneficial for our health,” she said. “They decrease plasma levels of lipids and chronic inflammation, which causes diseases such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, parkinson and even cancer.”
Probiotics go through the consumers’ gastrointestinal tract, where they help protect “good bacteria” in the body and promote digestive health.
Gómez said the tortillas are low in calories and eat two equivalent to have a drink of milk. In fact, tortillas are enriched with milk protein, and the double fermentation process also eliminates the need for anti-declute agents.
Researchers – teachers and students from the UNAM food and industrial chemistry department in his Cuautitlán campus – say that tortillas can last more than a month at room temperature and more than three months during refrigeration.
The increased conservation time and high nutritional value make tortillas a viable alternative for distant communities where malnutrition and lack of electricity are problems.
However, the double fermentation process means that after a certain duration, it is necessary to sprinkle a little water on the tortilla before being warmed so that it can recover its original texture and its malleable properties.
Gómez said tortillas are made by mixing all the ingredients and leaving the timeOr paste, sit two or three hours before being shaped in tortillas and cooked.
The researchers tested the time So that humidity and texture ensure that it was malleable enough to stretch and shape it without tearing. Gómez said the use of probiotics and the double fermentation process have made time More elastic and spongy without removing at all from taste and smell.
The cooked tortillas were analyzed to ensure that probiotics have survived the entire process and that the chemical analysis was carried out to determine the amount of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals that remained.
The study was carried out exclusively with wheat flour, but Gómez said there was no reason that corn flour could not be used.
In February, UNAM researchers received The Innovation Prize of the Mexican Institute for Industrial Property.
With reports from Infobae,, Cable And A global television
