The Addition of Wheat Germ to Granola Bars Molly Meridith Rebecca Nichols

The Addition of Wheat Germ to Granola Bars Molly Meridith Rebecca Nichols

Abstract: The reasoning for doing this experiment was to see if the addition of wheat germ would affect the water activity, breaking strength, and texture of granola bars. Wheat germ has been proven to be very beneficial for reducing the risk of cancer and the decreasing the risk of heart disease. In order to find out if wheat germ had any effect on the texture, water activity, and breaking strength it was necessary to conduct tests with the Water Activity machine, Texture Analyzer, and the Shear Press machine. After results were found from the laboratory testing, a sensory panel was used for all three trials. It was then concluded that wheat germ had little to no effect on taste or texture. Introduction: This year, cancer is expected to claim 569,49 American lives according to the American Cancer Society. Epidemiological studies show a correlation between diet and preventing cancer and coronary heart disease (WHO 199). This experiment was hypothesized to create a product that would increase the daily consumption of vitamin E in a palatable form therefore lowering the risk of cancer and coronary heart disease. Vitamin E contains a-tocopherols which are able to donate hydrogen atoms easily. They react with free radicals before they cause cell damage by oxidation (Gropper 9). The Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Survey found when serum a-tocopherol levels were examined from the individuals diagnosed with cancer and the individuals that served as the control, the individuals with a low level of a-tocopherol had about a 1.5 fold risk of cancer compared to the individuals with a higher level (Knekt 1991). Not all research is conclusive the amount of vitamin E consumption that would be beneficial against disease. More research needs to be done to form conclusive results for consumers. The richest dietary source of tocopherols comes from wheat germ and wheat germ oil (Leenhardt 8). Wheat germ also contains other vitamins, minerals, and fiber. In a study using rats, wheat germ and wheat germ oil with the same amounts of vitamin E were compared to see if the antioxidants would offer oxidation protection. The results concluded that the wheat germ diet decreased the heart and liver lipids oxidation (Leenhardt 8). Therefore wheat germ was chosen to increase vitamin E levels in granola bars. The 5 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that 15 mg of a- tocopherols be consumed per day (Gropper 9). No current data was found on consumption levels of vitamin E. By adding the wheat germ to granola bars, it would make the food item healthier and more beneficial to the consumer. Because granola bars are very crunchy and have a rough texture in the first place, the addition of wheat germ should have not altered the texture as as another food item such as yogurt. In this experiment, it was required to discover whether wheat germ had an effect on the texture and palatability of granola bars. In order to extend the investigation it was considered necessary that laboratory tests were run on the granola bars. In order to test this, the amount of wheat germ was varied in each variation. The independent variable that was conducted was the amounts of wheat germ used in each variation. There was a control variation which contained no wheat germ (# 94), the first variation contained. grams of wheat germ per recipe (#63), and the second variation contained 4. grams of wheat germ (#359). The dependent variables were texture, moisture content, and breaking strength.

Methods Design: This experiment required several trials of the granola bars. One recipe was made and then it was equally divided out into three parts, which equaled one cup. After dividing it out into one cup the wheat germ variations were added. The products were displayed on paper plates labeled with the sensory numbers. The sensory panel was then conducted at free will with 9 panelists per each trial. The reason for having a sensory panel was to have them evaluate the flavor and texture of the granola bars. Participants were asked to rank the granola bars on a hedonic scale and rank their favorite granola bars from one to three. Before the products were displayed, tests were conducted in the laboratory to find water activity, breaking strength, and texture. Preparation Instruments used in this experiment were three ceramic bowls, a hand mixer, wooden spoons, three nine by nine metal pans, ovens, and a microwave. The work area was divided into 3 separate parts, which represented each variable and amounts of wheat germ. Another area was set up to conduct our sensory panel and to place the finished products on. Ingredients Mrs. Jan Buckles bought all of the ingredients for this experiment. Each trial batch contained the following: Control Variation 1 Variation 1/3 egg white 43 grams peanut butter 4.4 grams brown sugar 8.5 grams honey 37.83 grams unsalted butter, melted 14 grams old fashioned oats, 18.64 grams miniature chocolate chips 1/3 egg white 43 grams peanut butter 4.4 grams brown sugar 8.5 grams honey 37.83 grams unsalted butter, melted 14 grams old fashioned oats, 18.64 grams miniature chocolate chips. grams of wheat germ 1/3 egg white 43 grams peanut butter 4.4 grams brown sugar 8.5 grams honey 37.83 grams unsalted butter, melted 14 grams old fashioned oats, 18.64 grams miniature chocolate chips 4. grams of wheat germ Procedure The granola bars started with beating the egg white to foam like texture. Then, the peanut butter, honey, and brown sugar were stirred in. Melted butter, oats, and wheat germ variation was then added and mixed together. Finally, the chocolate chips were mixed in. The pans were sprayed with cooking spray and then placed into the oven at 16.7 degrees Celsius. The granola bars were cooked until golden brown. Sensory Panel A sensory test was preformed after each trail that was made. Assigning specific numbers to each variation was necessary in order to avoid bias opinions. The control variable number was 94, the first variable s number was 63 and the second variable s number was 539. Each variation was placed on white paper placed labeled with each corresponding number. The granola bars were cut up into bite sized pieces in order to make tasting go at a faster pace. At each trial, 9 people were surveyed and used a sensory scorecard to rate their preferences.

Sensory Card: Please sample the food that has been given to you Please mark one X where you believe that each sample belongs 94 Like Like very Like moderately Like slightly Neither like nor dislike slightly moderately very 359 Like Like very Like moderately Like slightly Neither like nor dislike slightly moderately very 63 Like Like very Like moderately Like slightly Neither like nor dislike slightly moderately very Please rate each sample in order of preference. 1 being the most liked and 3 being the least liked. 94 359 63

Objective Data Collection: After baking each batch of granola bars, a series of objective data was collected in order to compare the effects of wheat germ on granola bars. In this experiment the Water Activity Machine, the Texture Analyzer, and the Shear Press were used. All instruments were used as described within the Food Laboratory Manual. The Water Activity machine is used in order to detect the water activity. In order to gather the data, a small piece of each granola bar from each trial and variation was placed in a small plastic cup and placed in the machine. Finally, when the machine is through conducting its test, the machine beeps, and a number is revealed on the front display. That is the number that was recorded for the water activity. The next test conducted was done using the Shear Press. This test is done in order to test the breaking strength of the granola bars. The data collection starts when a small piece of granola bar is placed in the indicated spot. Next, the scissor-like movement forces itself down on the granola bar, causing the scale to shift to show how many pounds of force it took to break the granola bars. The Texture Analyzer is very similar to the Shear Press, however, it is all done by a computer. In order for the machine to work, you must log into the system. After that, it is important to find the correct probe. For this experiment the cone probe was used. All of the samples that were tested were relatively the same size. The samples were placed under the cone probe and the instructions on the computer guided how the data should be collected. The instructions read to select file, new, and graph window. It is important to change the settings to match the object being tested. In order to do that, go to T.A., T.A. setting, and load the sample granola, and click update. Then a quick test was run by selecting T.A., and T.A. Quick Test Run. After the reading is concluded, the numbers appear on the side of the screen. These numbers will reveal grams of force. The numbers were then recorded. Results and Discussion: The purpose of this experiment was to produce a granola bar using wheat germ that contained Vitamin E which could lower the risk of cardiovascular and heart disease. Once all the data from the experiment was collected it was analyzed. The tables and figures can be seen at the end of the document. The sensory evaluation of trial 1 which can be seen is Table, resulted in 6 people ranking variable, which contained the most wheat germ, as the most liked variation. Variable 1 had 5 people that described it as the least liked variation. The control was in the middle with 6 people marking it as between most liked and least liked. The control also ranked 1 like, 3 like very, and 5 like moderately. As seen in Table 1, Variable 1 had a spread of people who liked and disliked the variable. 1 person liked, 3 people liked very, people like moderately, 1 liked slightly, 1 disliked slightly, and 1 moderate dislike. Variable had people that marked that they liked, 5 liked very, and that liked moderately. As seen in Table 4, Trial varied with the control being most liked with 5 votes. Variable was slightly behind with 4 votes for most liked and also tied with variable 1 for least liked. Variable one scored the highest between least liked and most liked with 5 votes. Table 3 details what the control had 6 people like very, 1 like moderately, 1 like slightly, and 1 dislike. Variable 1 had like very, 5 like moderately, 1 like slightly, and one dislike very. Variable had 1 like, 3 like very, like moderately, 1 like slightly, 1 neither like nor dislike, and 1 dislike slightly.

Trial 3 also ranked variable as the most liked with 6 votes, as seen in Table 6. There is a three way tie with three votes each between most and least liked. The control was least liked in this trial. Table 5 details that the control ranked 3 like very, 5 like moderately, and 1 like slightly. Variable 1 had 5 like very, like moderately, and like slightly. Variable had 7 like very and like moderately. Overall, the hypothesis of creating a granola bar with wheat germ that was palatable and had no difference in texture was confirmed for this experiment. out of 3 trials ranked variable as the most liked product. 15 out of 7 people liked variable 3 very and 4 out of 7 like it. More testing should be done to confirm that adding wheat germ to a granola bar does in fact have no impact on the palatability or texture of the product. The objective measures we looked at were the Texture Analyzer, the Water Activity machine, and the Shear Press. The results for the Texture Analyzer can be seen in Graph 1 and the averages and standard deviations can be seen in Graph 7. The averages of each were trial 1 was 1.48g, trial was 458g, and trail 3 was 5.7g. The standard deviations were 196, 3.6, and 43.9 respectively. The p-values for the Texture Analyzer for all trials were significant. The Water Activity machine averages were 1.57 for trial 1,.4 for trial, and.47 for trial 3. The standard deviations were.,.4, and.4 respectively. The results are depicted in graphs for the results and 8 for standard deviations and averages. The Water Activity p-values for trial 1 were significant, but trial and 3 were not significant. The Shear Press averages were 3.88lbs for trial 1, 3.59lbs for trial, and 3.5lbs for trial 3. The standard deviations are depicted in graph 9 and were.1 for trial 1, 1.17 for trial, and 1.47 for trial 3. The graph of the results is graph 3. The Shear Press p-values were all not significant. The Texture Analyzer values were close in value except for trial. It had a value that was almost g over the other trials. The Water Activity is the same but trial 1 has the very high value of 1.57 compared to trial and.4 and trial 3 at.47. All of the Shear Press values were closer in value. Muhammad Arshad and colleagues also experimented with wheat germ and palatability. Instead of using granola as in this experiment, they used cookies. In their experiment, they replaced wheat flour with defatted wheat germ at levels of -5%. They also rated their product with a hedonic scale, but used trained judges unlike this experiment. The cookies were rates on color, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability. They found that up to a 15% substitution of wheat germ produced cookies that were similar to the control and acceptable (Arshad 6). In any experiment there are many possible sources of error. Another possible source of error would be the use of scales or any other the other measures were not properly calibrated. This would cause measurements that were too high or too low. This could cause so error that a person would not be able to duplicate the experiment. Human error is also another possible source of error in this experiment. Human error can occur in the measurement of the ingredients, preforming processes for objective data collection, and having an untrained sensory panel. One of the granola bars had to be placed in a non-convection oven. This also could have altered the results. If this experiment could be taken further, the product would be tested for vitamin E levels and then used in a trial where disease free humans would consume the product. Serum α- tocopherol levels would be taken and compared after time had passed or disease was diagnosed to see if vitamin E did offer protection against heart disease and coronary heart disease. As students with limited resources, this would be difficult. For now, the experiment is only developing a granola far that contains vitamin E that is palatable. Overall, this experiment was

successful in two trials by finding the variable with the most wheat germ was preferred over the control. References Arshad, Muhammad Umair, Anjum, Fagir Muhammad, Zahoor, Tahir. 6. Nutritional Assessment of Cookies Supplemented with Wheat Germ. Food Chemistry 1: 13-18 Cancer facts and figures. 1. American Cancer Society. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsfigurescancer-facts-and-figures-1. Gropper, Sareen, Smith, Jack, Groff, James. 9. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. 5 th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 4-48. Knekt, Paul and others. 1991. Vitamin E and Cancer Prevention. Am J Clin Nutr 53:83-86. Leenhardt, Fanny and others. 8. Wheat Germ Supplementation of a Low Vitamin E Diet in Rats Affords Effective Antioxidant Protection in Tissues. J Am Col Nutr 7(): 1-7. Weaver CM, Daniel JR. 3. Physical Properties of Foods. In: Weaver CM, Daniel JR. The Food Chemistry Laboratory: A manual for experimental foods, dietetics, and food scientists. nd ed. Boca Raton: CRC press. World Health Organization. 199. Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. Technical Report Series, 797.

Table 1: Trial 1 The effect of Wheat Germ on Texture and Taste Like 1 Like 1 Like Like very 3 Like very 3 Like very Like moderately 5 Like Like moderately moderately Like slightly Like slightly 1 Like slightly Neither like not Neither like Neither like dislike not dislike not dislike Slightly 1 Slightly Slightly Moderately 1 Moderately Moderately very very very 5 Table : Trial 1 The effect of Wheat Germ on Texture and Taste 1 (Most Liked) 3 (Least Liked) Control 1 6 Variable 1 5 Variable 6 1

Table 3: Trial The effect of Wheat Germ on Texture and Taste Like Like Like 1 Like very 6 Like very Like very 3 Like moderately 1 Like 5 Like moderately moderately Like slightly 1 Like slightly 1 Like slightly 1 Neither like not Neither like Neither like 1 dislike not dislike not dislike Slightly 1 Slightly Slightly Moderately Moderately Moderately very very 1 very 1 Table 4: Trial The effect of Wheat Germ on Texture and Taste Trial 1 (Most liked) 3 (Least Liked) Control 5 1 Variable 1 5 3 Variable 4 3

Table 5: Trial 3 The effect of Wheat Germ on Texture and Taste Like Like Like Like very 3 Like very 5 Like very Like moderately 5 Like Like moderately moderately Like slightly 1 Like slightly Like slightly Neither like not Neither like Neither like dislike not dislike not dislike Slightly Slightly Slightly Moderately Moderately Moderately very very very 7 Table 6: Trial 3 The effect of Wheat Germ on Texture and Taste 1 (Most liked) 3 (Least Liked) Control 1 3 5 Variable 1 3 4 Variable 6 3

Table 7: Trial 1 The effect of Wheat Germ on Texture, Breaking Strength, and Water Activity Texture Analyzer 41. 39.7 7.9 (g) Water Activity.36.458.435 Shear Press (lbs) 3.75 3.91 4. Table 8: Trial The effect of Wheat Germ on Texture, Breaking Strength, and Water Activity Texture Analyzer 488.9 44.9 46.5 (g) Water Activity.456.369.446 Shear Press (lbs).7 4.5 4 Table 9: Trial 3 The effect of Wheat Germ on Texture, Breaking Strength, and Water Activity Texture Analyzer 31.9 31. 19.4 (g) Water Activity.59.43.493 Shear Press (lbs) 1.4 3.5 4.5 Table 1: Averages and Standard Deviations of all Trials Texture Analyzer (g) Water Activity Shear Press (lbs) Average Trial 1 Average Trial Average Trial 3 Standard Deviation Trial 1 Standard Deviation Trial Standard Deviation Trial 3 1.48 1.57 3.88 458.4 3.59 5.7.47 3.5 196..1 3.6.4 1.17 43.9.4 1.47

Table 11: P-Values of all Trials Texture Analyzer (g) Water Activity Shear Press (lbs) P Value Trial 1 P Value Trial P Values Trial 3 P<.5 significant P<.5 significant P>.5 not significant P<.5 significant P<.5 significant P>.5 not significant P>.5 not significant P>.5 not significant P>.5 not significant 6 5 Texture Analyzer (g) 4 3 Trial 1 Trial Trial 3 1 Variables Graph 1: The Effect of Wheat Germ on the Texture Analyzer

.6.5 Water Activity (%).4.3..1 Trial 1 Trial Trial 3 Variables Graph : The Effect of Wheat Germ on Water Activity 5 4.5 4 3.5 Shear Press (Lbs.) 3.5 1.5 1.5 Trial 1 Trial Trial 3 Variables Graph 3: The Affect of Wheat Germ on the Shear Press

People 7 6 5 4 3 1 Control Variable 1 Variable 1=Most Liked =Neutral 3=Least Liked Rankings Graph 4: Trial 1 Rankings Comparing Texture and Taste 6 5 4 People 3 1 Control Variable 1 Variable 1=Most Liked =Neutral 3=Least Liked Rankings Graph 5: Trial Rankings Comparing Texture and Taste

People 7 6 5 4 3 1 Control Variable 1 Variable 1=Most Liked =Neutral 3=Least Liked Rankings Graph 6: Trial 3 Rankings Comparing Texture and Taste 6 5 Texture Analyzer (g) 4 3 A 1 A Avg 1 Avg Avg 3 SD 1 SD SD 3 Graph 7: Comparing the averages and standard deviations along with 5% error bars of all the variations in each trial in the Texture Analyzer (g). A=significantly different B=not significant

.5 A Water Activity (aw) 1.5 1.5 B B Avg 1 Avg Avg 3 SD 1 SD SD 3 Graph 8: Comparing the averages and standard deviations along with 5% error bars of all the variations in each trial in Water Activity. A=significantly different B=not significant 4.5 4 3.5 3 Shear Press (lbs).5 1.5 B B 1.5 Avg 1 Avg Avg 3 SD 1 SD SD 3 B Graph 8: Comparing the averages and standard deviations along with 5% error bars of all the variations in each trial in Shear Press (lbs). A=significantly different B=not significant