SENSORY EVALUATION AND NUTRIENT COMPOSITION OF ‘MUFFIN’ PREPARED BY GERMINATED QUINOA FLOUR (CHENOPODIUM QUINOA WILD), SESAME SEED AND OATSIRA ANJALI TIRKEY AND VIRGINIA PAULAbstract Germination is a widely used technique for increasing the nutritional value of cereals and grains. Germination has long been thought to be a low-cost and effective way to boost antioxidant capacity and increase the bioavailability of essential minerals and vitamins. Quinoa is high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Unlike cereals, quinoa seeds contain all essential amino acids and has high biological value. The process to obtain Germinated Quinoa flour was done by soaking and germinating methods. The grains were properly washed and soaked in water for 12 h then germinated for another 24h in fresh water after washing the soaked seeds properly to drain out the saponins and other antinutritional factors. This study was conducted to examine the effects on sensory properties, nutrient and antioxidant content of Muffin prepared by incorporation of Germinated Quinoa flour, Sesame seeds and Oats in different proportion. Three different types of treatments were prepared by incorporating Germinated Quinoa Flour ranging from 20 g, 30 g and 40 g, Oats flour ranging from 15 g, 20 g, 25 g, and 2 g of Sesame seed was also incorporated which remained constant in all three treatments along with control made of 100 g of Whole Wheat flour. The products were evaluated for sensory attributes based on 9 Point Hedonic Score. The results suggested that Muffin incorporated in the ratio of (50:30:20:2) T2 was liked very much. Whereas, Muffin incorporated in the ratio of (65:20:15:2) T1 was liked moderately and Muffin incorporated in the ratio of (35:40:25:2) T3 was liked the least and resulted in decreased mean score of Overall Acceptability. The data obtained for Proximate Analysis, Mineral and Antioxidant content was done by using AOAC methods. Differences among the Sensory Score and nutrient content of the developed food product was done by using various Statistical Analysis methods like ANOVA, CD and âtâ test. The nutritional composition of the best treatment (T2) resulted to be higher than that of control (T0). The best treatment of Quinoa Muffin had the moisture content of 26.6%, and ash content of 1.8 g per 100 g and protein content of 18.8 g per 100g. Fat content was 30.6g per 100g, fiber content was 5.2g per 100g, carbohydrate content as 165.46 g per 100g and the energy content was 1012.44 Kcal. Quinoa Muffin also contained 118.01 mg of Calcium per 100 g and 7.3 mg of Iron per 100 g. The cost of the dry ingredients for preparing Quinoa Muffin per 100 g were Rs.35.42 for T0, Rs.60.98 for T1, Rs.66.83 for T2 and Rs.72.72 for T3. Thus, it can be concluded that incorporation of Germinated Quinoa Flour, Oats and Sesame Seeds can be utilized for preparation of different food products which enhances the Nutritional Content and improves Sensory Acceptability |