Cereal Chem 59:328 - 332.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Effects of Processing Conditions and Cooking Time on Riboflavin, Thiamine, and Niacin Levels in Enriched Spaghetti.

J. E. Dexter, R. R. Matsuo, and B. C. Morgan. Copyright 1982 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Durum wheat semolina was enriched to two levels with a commercial vitamin enrichment mixture containing riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, and niacin, and processed into spaghetti in a Demaco laboratory-scale continuous-extrusion press. Spaghetti processed at each enrichment level was dried by a conventional low-temperature drying cycle and by two high-temperature drying cycles. The enrichment mixture influenced spaghetti color properties but had no effect on cooking quality. Some riboflavin was lost during all three drying cycles, particularly during both high-temperature cycles. In contrast, niacin and thiamine were stable throughout all three drying cycles. All three vitamins in spaghetti were rapidly lost during cooking. Analysis of cooking water showed that loss of riboflavin and thiamine was from the combined effects of leaching into the cooking water and vitamin degradation. All niacin lost during cooking was recovered in the cooking water. The mean proportions of each vitamin retained in the spaghetti for all laboratory spaghetti samples cooked to optimum were 30% for riboflavin, 39% for thiamine, and 48% for niacin. Although vitamin retention during cooking was significantly related to enrichment levels and drying cycle, cooking time was the predominant factor determining the proportion of each vitamin retained during cooking. The trends established for vitamin retention in cooked laboratory spaghetti were confirmed for three Canadian commercial enriched spaghetti samples.