The Effect of Moringa Leaf Flour (Moringa oleifera) Addition on Nutritional Value, Physical Characteristics and Organoleptic Properties of Tortilla Chips

Abstract

Tortilla chips, which are thin and crispy snacks, are generally made from corn flour using ultra-processing technology. This technology often has a negative effect on the nutritional content of a product. One way to increase the nutritional value of ultra-processed products is to add ingredients using alternative flours with high nutritional value. Moringa leaves are plant-based ingredients with potential nutritional value that are currently receiving a lot of attention. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of moringa leaf flour on the nutritional content and physical and organoleptic properties of tortilla chip products. The experiment was conducted using a Completely Randomized Design with four repetitions for each treatment of adding moringa leaf flour namely: p0 (without moringa leaf flour), p1 (3 g), p2 (6 g), p3 (9 g), and p4 (12 g). The study showed that the best nutritional content was obtained in p4 tortilla chips, which contained 1.61% water, 22.14% fat, 8.18% ash, 2.15% fiber, 23.63% protein, and 59.87% carbohydrate. However, nutritional value is not directly proportional to its physical and organoleptic properties. The p1 had the best physical quality, with a total color value of 14.29, hardness of 1577.75 gf, crispness value of 0.72 mm, and in terms of aroma, color, taste, and texture, it was the most preferred.