Determination of the mineral profile of raw and roasted lentil flour after addition to yogurt

Introduction: Lentil (Lens culinaris) is a pulse largely consumed in the world, especially in Algeria. This legume can be consumed in different forms (pottage, soup), but also flour can be produced after roasting treatment of the lentils. Resulted flour can be used as a food or ingredient in the formulation of food products. Aims: The main objective of this study is to determine the variation in the main mineral content of lentil flour. The flour was analyzed at its native state (raw), after roasting, raw before addition to yogurt, and roasted after addition in yogurt as a functional ingredient at a rate of 4%. Material and Methods: The lentil flours analysis was carried out by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) associated with Dispersive X-ray Energy (EDX) microanalysis (SEM-EDX). Results: The results show that the roasting treatment does not have a marked effect on the mineral content of lentil flours. However, the addition to the yogurt made it possible to raise the mineral content of the raw and roasted lentil flour remarkably. Conclusions: Adding lentil flour to yogurt is an effective way to increase the mineral content of yogurts made from these flours. Keywords: Lens culinaris, flour, roasting, SEM-EDX, mineral.