Development of a Bose corn and local Timorese legume food bar fortified with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum: nutritional composition, color characteristics, and probiotic viability

Abstract

Food insecurity and nutrition issues in East Nusa Tenggara Province require solutions through local food diversification. Functional food diversification is important in response to changing dietary patterns, particularly the increasing consumption of nutritious snacks (snackification). Probiotic-based functional snacks have the potential to provide health benefits while utilizing local food resources.

This study aimed to develop a probiotic food bar formulation based on corn and local Timor legumes and to evaluate its physicochemical properties and probiotic viability. An experimental study was conducted using a completely randomized design (CRD) with five formulations and three replications. The formulations were prepared by modifying bose corn with local legumes, including corn (Zea mays), peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.), mung beans (Vigna radiata), cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata), and rice beans (Vigna umbellata). The probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum was added to the food bar.

The results showed that formulation F1 was the best overall, with moisture content of 51.49%, ash 1.46%, protein 4.76%, carbohydrates 39.99%, crude fiber 4.75%, and low fat content (2.31%). The highest probiotic viability was observed in F4 during the second week of storage (1.55 × 10⁵ CFU/g), although the overall probiotic count remained relatively low.

It is concluded that F1 is the best overall formulation, whereas F4 is superior in probiotic viability. Further optimization is required to improve product quality and probiotic viability.