Development of High-Fiber Functional Cereal from Broken Black Rice, Corn, and Red Beans Using Mixture Design Approach

Abstract

Broken black rice (BBR) is a locally available cereal rich in macronutrients and bioactive compounds with reported health promoting properties. This study aimed to optimize a BBR based functional cereal blend with corn and red bean and evaluate its physicochemical and nutritional characteristics. A D optimal mixture design was used to identify the optimal proportions of BBR flour, corn flour, and red bean flour. The resulting formulations were prepared and characterized in terms of textural properties (crispiness, hardness), functional attributes (total phenolic content, resistance in milk, swelling degree), and proximate composition (moisture, ash, protein, fat, carbohydrates, and total dietary fiber). The optimal formulation comprised 29.107% BBR, 53.593% corn, and 8.300% red bean, with crispiness of 2.054 kgf, hardness of 5.821 kgf, total phenolic content of 18.350 mg GAE/g, resistance in milk of 44.326 minutes, and swelling degree of 275.216%. The product had a moisture content of 3.972%, ash of 2.519%, protein of 9.738%, total fat of 5.631%, carbohydrates of 71.078%, and total dietary fiber of 10.246%, with statistically significant model terms supporting the optimization (D optimal model). The optimized BBR–corn–red bean cereal exhibited balanced textural quality and enhanced functional properties, including high dietary fiber and phenolic content. These findings provide a basis for developing nutritionally enriched, ready to eat functional cereals from locally sourced ingredients.