Nutritional Enhancement of Frozen Cucurbita Puri Bread: A Comparative Analysis of Formulation and Consumer Acceptance

Abstract

Pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) is a nutrient-dense crop rich in antioxidants and fibre, yet its underutilization in processed foods contributes to post-harvest losses in SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Besides, SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being by promoting nutrient-dense foods and industrial scalability supports SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure. This study aims to (1) develop Frozen Cucurbita Puri Bread with enhanced nutritional value and (2) validate consumer acceptability, targeting health-conscious consumers and food industries. Proximate analyses such as moisture, ash, phenolic and antioxidant content. For sensory evaluation by using 9-point hedonic scale were conducted to compare frozen cucurbita puri bread and plain puri bread. Frozen cucurbita puri bread exhibited superior nutritional properties were 20.19% to 25.23% moisture compared to 24.24% to 30.0% in plain bread. While 54.6 mg/mL phenolic compounds and 15.3 mg/mL antioxidants. For sensory tests confirmed higher acceptability was 5.53 compared to plain puri bread 4.37. The study successfully developed a nutrient-rich and addressing gaps in functional bakery products. Evaluate other nutritional value such as protein or vitamin profiling could further validate health claims and development on biodegradable packaging.