Production and characterization of breadfruit flour (Artocarpus altilis): An alternative for the elaboration of flakes for children's use

Alberto Bustillos^1*Cristina Arteaga²Adriana Rodríguez³Susana Heredia⁴Mónica Gozalbo^5*Jesús Blesa⁵Renata Alejandra Alvarado-Barba⁶Cristina Gabriela Ríos^6,7Dayana Villavicencio Barriga⁶Jessenia Vásquez⁸Karol Egas⁸Elizabeth Quiroga⁹Ruth Arias-Gutierrez¹⁰Valeria Carpio-Arias^8*

• ¹Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Tecnica de Ambato, Ambato, Ecuador
• ²Faculta de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Tecnica de Ambato, Ambato, Ecuador
• ³Escuela Superior Politecnica de Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador
• ⁴Carrera de Nutrición y Dietética. Facultad de Salud Pública. Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo. Riobamba, Ecuador, Riobamba, Ecuador
• ⁵Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Food Sciences, Toxicology and Legal Medicine, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain., Valencia, Spain
• ⁶Sede Orellana, Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Ecuador, Riobamba, Ecuador
• ⁷Sede Orellana, Escuela Superior Politecnica de Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador
• ⁸Faculty of Sciences, Biochemistry and Pharmacy Program, Riobamba-Chimborazo, Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador
• ⁹Technical University of Ambato, Ecuador Kuskiykuy Academic and Scientific Research Group in Biomedical Sciences with Social Projection. Yachay Suntur, Ambato, Ecuador
• ¹⁰Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Estatal Amazónica, Puyo, Ecuador

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) represents a promising tropical crop with high nutritional potential and application in functional food development. This study aimed to produce and characterize gluten-free breadfruit flour (BF) and evaluate its use at 20.7% substitution in corn-based extruded flakes. Physiologically mature breadfruit was peeled, cored, cut into 20 × 20 × 10 mm pulp cubes, dipped in 0.1% (w/v) sodium bisulfite for 2 min, tray-dried at 70 °C (air velocity 1.5 m s⁻¹), and milled to <212 PAGE \* Arabic \* MERGEFORMAT 4 This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article µm. The resulting flour exhibited a moisture content of 10.8%, protein 10.1%, fat 2.4%, fiber 4.06%, and total phenolics of 298.7 mg GAE/100 g, with a predominance of polyunsaturated fatty acids (52.8%) and 41.4 mg β-carotene/100 g. Heavy metals (Pb = 0.085 mg/kg, Cd = 0.012 mg/kg) and aflatoxins (< 0.5 µg/kg) were below national safety limits, confirming product safety. The optimized formulation (F3, 20.7% BF) was extruded under a temperature profile of 80/110/135 °C and 200 rpm, producing flakes with favorable expansion (4.0 ± 0.1), hardness (14.7 ± 0.4 N), and high sensory acceptability (7.9 ± 0.33). All products complied with microbiological standards. The integration of BF improved the nutritional and functional value of the flakes, offering a sustainable and safe alternative ingredient for developing fortified breakfast cereals.