Nutritional aspects of food extrusion: a review

Summary Extrusion cooking, as a multi‐step, multi‐functional and thermal/mechanical process, has permitted a large number of food applications. Effects of extrusion cooking on nutritional quality are ambiguous. Beneficial effects include destruction of antinutritional factors, gelatinisation of starch, increased soluble dietary fibre and reduction of lipid oxidation. On the other hand, Maillard reactions between protein and sugars reduce the nutritional value of the protein, depending on the raw material types, their composition and process conditions. Heat‐labile vitamins may be lost to varying extents. Changes in proteins and amino acid profile, carbohydrates, dietary fibre, vitamins, mineral content and…