Bioavailability of zinc in fiber-enriched bread fortified with zinc sulphate.

The present study aimed to reduce the caloric value of bread by substituting a part of wheat flour with artichoke bracts at levels of 5%, 10% and 15% without sacrificing taste, texture or acceptability. Moreover, considerable trials had been made to reduce zinc deficiency in wheat bread and fiber-enriched bread and also to study the effect of fiber on zinc bioavailability. Therefore, zinc sulphate was added to bread at levels of 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 mg/100 g edible portion. The results from this study show that: (i) The addition of artichoke bracts to wheat flour increased the water absorption, arrival time, development time, and weakening of the dough as the level of artichoke bracts increased, while dough stability decreased. (ii) Mixing wheat flour with increasing amount of artichoke bracts increased the content of protein, fiber and total essential amino acids, also all essential amino acids increased in wheat bread and fiber-enriched bread after fortification with zinc sulphate at a level of 100 mg/100 g edible portion except methionine, threonine and tyrosine. (iii) The best level of zinc sulphate to give the best bioavailability for zinc is 100 mg/100 g edible portion. (iv) Evaluation of fortified wheat bread and fiber-enriched bread with zinc sulphate showed no significant difference by test panel.