ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Nutrition and Sustainable Diets
Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1661446
This article is part of the Research TopicPlant-Based Foods: the Impact of Processing on HealthView all 3 articles
Optimizing Formulation of Fried Rice-Based Snack Supplemented with Watermeal (Wolffia arrhiza (L.) Wimm.) and Rice Protein Isolate Powders Using an I-Optimal Design: Enhanced Protein Content and Functional Properties
Provisionally accepted
Kowit Patcharabudsarakumkul1Sirintat Liamlaem1Sukrichaya Hemathulin2
Chutikarn Kapcum3Yuphin Somkhumphee1
Pimchada Itthivadhanapong4
Sumeth Piayura1*- 1Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University, Mueang Sakon Nakhon District, Thailand
- 2Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Sakon Nakhon Campus, Sakon Nakhon, Thailand
- 3Division of Food Technology, Mahidol University - Kanchanaburi Campus, Lum Sum, Thailand
- 4Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep, Bangkok, Thailand
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This study aimed to optimize a fried snack formulation comprising Tubtim Chum Phae rice flour (RF; 60-79%), watermeal (Wolffia arrhiza, WM; 11-30%), and rice protein isolate (RP; 5-10%) to enhance protein content and functional properties, including total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity (AOA). Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with an Ioptimal design was employed to predict the effects of ingredient ratios on all responses. The optimized formulation was validated through experiments, and its microstructure was analyzed using SEM. The amino acid profile was also determined. The RSM models accurately predicted the effects of ingredient ratios on all responses. Numerical optimization identified an optimal formulation consisting of 60.91% RF, 29.70% WM, and 8.39% RP, with validation experiments confirming strong agreement between predicted and actual values. The optimized snack exhibited 20.68% protein and improved functional properties. It showed a hardness of 14.04 N and a porous, non-uniform microstructure under SEM analysis. In addition, the amino acid profile, particularly in essential amino acids, was markedly enhanced compared to that of rice flour alone. These findings demonstrate that incorporating WM and RP using RSM is an effective strategy to improve the nutritional and antioxidant properties of ricebased snacks.
Keywords: Wolffia arrhiza, Tubtim Chum Phae rice, Rice protein isolate, fried rice snack, I-optimal, Amino acid profile
Received: 07 Jul 2025; Accepted: 11 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Patcharabudsarakumkul, Liamlaem, Hemathulin, Kapcum, Somkhumphee, Itthivadhanapong and Piayura. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sumeth Piayura, Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University, Mueang Sakon Nakhon District, Thailand
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