Adding moringa leaf powder to durum wheat fresh pasta
What it found
Replacing part of the durum wheat in fresh pasta with moringa leaf powder raised its mineral and antioxidant levels.
People who tasted it still liked it.
What they found
Studies in people
Taste and acceptability
People who tried the pasta found it acceptable even when moringa leaf powder replaced some of the wheat.
Other findings
Cooking changes
More moringa leaf powder meant the pasta cooked faster, swelled less, and was softer. It also lost more starch into the water and became stickier.
Extra nutrients
Adding moringa leaf powder raised the amount of phenols, antioxidants, and minerals in the wheat pasta.
What the authors conclude
- They say that adding moringa leaf powder to fresh pasta can raise its nutritional value.
- The authors note this can be done while keeping the pasta's cooking qualities and taste acceptable.
How it was done
Pasta is eaten all over the world and could be a good way to deliver extra plant compounds to people. The authors wanted to see if adding these compounds would improve the food.
They made fresh pasta using durum wheat, swapping out 0, 5, 10, or 15 g per 100 g of the wheat for dried moringa leaf powder. They then measured how the pasta cooked, what nutrients it contained, and how it tasted.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This work looked at how the pasta was made and what it contained, not at health effects in people eating it over time.
- It cannot show whether eating this fortified wheat pasta changes anyone's health.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Verona, Italy; Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
The paper
- Title
- Technological, nutritional, and sensory properties of durum wheat fresh pasta fortified with Moringa oleifera L. leaf powder
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Simonato B, Tolve R, Rainero G, et al (2021). Technological, nutritional, and sensory properties of durum wheat fresh pasta fortified with Moringa oleifera L. leaf powder. Journal of the science of food and agriculture. doi:10.1002/jsfa.10807PubMed 32898294DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error